Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees v. Litke, (1999) 138 Man.R.(2d) 266 (CA)

• Judge: Lyon, Kroft and Monnin, JJ.A.
• Court: Court of Appeal (Manitoba)
• Case Date: October 05, 1999
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: (1999), 138 Man.R.(2d) 266 (CA)

BMWE v. Litke (1999), 138 Man.R.(2d) 266 (CA);

    202 W.A.C. 266

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [1999] Man.R.(2d) TBEd. OC.046

Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees (plaintiff/appellant/appellant) v. Wayne Litke (defendant/respondent/respondent)

(AI 99-30-04061)

Indexed As: Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees v. Litke

Manitoba Court of Appeal

Lyon, Kroft and Monnin, JJ.A.

October 5, 1999.

Summary:

A union found Litke guilty of acting as a strikebreaker contrary to the union constitu­tion and fined him $5,000. Litke did not pay. The union brought a small claims action against Litke. The hearing officer dismissed the claim. The union appealed the decision. Litke brought a preliminary motion chal­lenging the court's jurisdiction.

The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, in a decision reported at 133 Man.R.(2d) 146, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the appeal. The union appealed.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Courts - Topic 7820.1

Provincial courts - Manitoba - Court of Queen's Bench - Small claims - Jurisdic­tion - Labour relations - A federal union, not registered under the Trade Unions Act, found Litke guilty of acting as a strikebreaker contrary to the union consti­tution and fined him $5,000 - Litke did not pay - The union brought a small claims action against Litke - The hearing officer dismissed the claim - When the union appealed, Litke brought a prelimi­nary motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court - The motions judge held that the court lacked jurisdiction - The Mani­toba Court of Appeal affirmed that the court lacked jurisdiction - The court was barred from hearing the claim by s. 4 of the Trade Union Act - Also, the fine was a penalty, not a genuine pre-estimate of damages, and should not be enforced by the court.

Cases Noticed:

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers v. Perks, Grandy and Hearn (1986), 62 Nfld. & P.E.I.R. 69; 190 A.P.R. 69 (Nfld. T.D.), refd to. [para. 11].

Huffman et al. v. Spalding and Helgera Commodities Ltd., (1989), 56 Man.R.(2d) 317 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 15].

Statutes Noticed:

Trade Unions Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. T-14, sect. 4(1)(a), sect. 4(1)(b), sect. 5 [para. 8].

Authors and Works Noticed:

MacNeil, M., Lynk, M., and Engelmann P., Trade Union Law in Canada (1998), p. 4-1 [para. 12].

Counsel:

M. Myers, Q.C., for the appellant;

L.J. Bird and D.H. Le Heiget, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard on October 5, 1999, before Lyon, Kroft and Monnin, JJ.A., of the Manitoba Court of Appeal. Kroft, J.A., delivered the following judgment for the court on October 5, 1999, and filed written reasons on October 13, 1999.