Fourth Circuit Dismisses Petition Brought by NLRB to Enforce Settlement and Order

Concluding that the action before it “lacks adverseness” and did not present a case or controversy fit for judicial resolution, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that it did not have jurisdiction over the National Labor Relations Board’s petition to enforce a settlement and order to which the employer had consented, and dismissed the petition.

Respondent Constellium Rolled Products employs members of a local United Steelworkers union. After a labor dispute, the union filed four charges with the NLRB alleging that Constellium committed unfair labor practices. The union requested information from Constellium that it believed would be relevant to collective bargaining. The union alleged that Constellium refused to provide the requested information, and “[b]elieving the allegations had merit,” the NLRB issued an agency complaint against Constellium. Rather than proceed through agency adjudication, the union and Constellium entered into a formal settlement stipulation, which provided that the stipulation was not effective until the NLRB had approved it and that upon entry of an NLRB order, Constellium would immediately comply with the terms of the order. Constellium also agreed in the stipulation that when the NLRB sought a judgment in federal court to enforce the order, “Constellium would waive all defenses and consent to the entry of that judgment.”

The NLRB approved the stipulation, issued an order reflecting the terms, and then petitioned the court under 29 U.S.C. §160(e) to enter a consent judgment against Constellium reflecting the terms of the order. The Fourth Circuit dismissed the petition holding that “[b]ecause this suit lacks adverseness, we lack jurisdiction.” In considering the jurisdictional issue, the Fourth Circuit noted the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. 744 (2013), which reaffirmed that Article III requires “sufficient adverseness” to confer an adequate basis for jurisdiction. The court further noted that “[a]dverse interests — that minimum adverseness threshold required by Windsor — exist only when judicial action would have ‘real-world consequences’ and ‘real meaning’ for the parties.” The court noted that the NLRB “agrees that Constellium has complied with the order and continues to do so” and found that while there was adverseness between the NLRB and Constellium at some point when the matter was before the board, “that adverseness was extinguished before the case got to federal court” and dismissed the petition.

National Labor Relations Board v. Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC, No. 20-2140 (4th Cir. Aug. 5, 2022).