Miller ex rel. National Labor Relations Board v. Hotel & Restaurant Employees & Bartenders Union

The NLRB appeals a district court award of some $17,600.00 in attorney fees and costs to a union under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), 28 U.S.C. § 2412 (1982). 107 FRD 231. The underlying dispute arose out of the 1984 Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union strike against Scoma’s Restaurant located at the end of Pier 47 in San Francisco. Striking employees picketed at the pier’s entrance, which is 400 feet away from Scoma’s, and paraded in front of neutral businesses operating in that vicinity. Scoma’s filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging that the union was violating section 8(b)(4)(B) of the National Labor Relations Act; 29 U.S.C. § 158 (b)(4)(B) (1982), commonly referred to as the secondary boycott provision.

The Board subsequently issued a complaint and filed a petition in district court to enjoin the picketing pursuant to section 10(Z), 29 U.S.C. § 160 (Z) (1982). The district court held a hearing on October 15, 1984, and denied the injunction. 605 F.Supp. 573 . The union then requested attorney fees pursuant to the EAJA, which provides: “[A] court shall award to a prevailing party other than the United States fees and other expenses ... unless the court…