Chauffeurs, Sales Drivers, Warehousemen & Helpers Union Local 572, International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. Weslock Corp.

OVERVIEW

Chauffeurs, Sales Drivers, Warehousemen and Helpers Union Local 572, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, AFL-CIO (“Union”) appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Westinghouse Electric Corporation (‘Westinghouse”) in the Union’s action claiming violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2101-2109 , for Westinghouse’s alleged failure to provide 60 days notice of a plant closing to employees at a Weslock Corporation (Weslock”) manufacturing facility. The Union specifically claims there are disputed issues of material fact as to whether the surrender in June of 1993 of Weslock assets to Westinghouse in satisfaction of a delinquent loan made Westinghouse an “employer” within the meaning of WARN prior to the closure of the Weslock manufacturing plant. We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Under a financing and security agreement executed December 29, 1989, Westinghouse, acting as a lender, agreed to lend working capital to Weslock, American Builders Hardware Corporation (“ABHC”), and Modern Acquisition Corporation (“Modern Faucet”)…