FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
SEP 14 2018
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
CHERIE MANCINI; et al., No. 17-17357
Plaintiffs-Appellants, D.C. Nos.
2:17-cv-01340-APG-NJK
v. 2:17-cv-02137-APG-NJK
SERVICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION; et al., MEMORANDUM*
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada
Andrew P. Gordon, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted August 31, 2018**
Pasadena, California
Before: WARDLAW, BYBEE, and IKUTA, Circuit Judges.
Cherie Mancini, the removed former-president of Local 1107, Raymond
Garcia, a Local 1107 member, and other members of Local 1107 appeal the denial
of their motions for a preliminary injunction to dissolve the trusteeship imposed by
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
defendants the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and Luisa Blue, the
trustee. This appeal arises from two cases consolidated by the district court,
referred to here as Mancini and Garcia. While we have jurisdiction over the denial
of the preliminary injunction in Mancini, we lack jurisdiction to address the motion
to remand the proceedings to state court in Garcia or the motion to reconsider an
earlier denial of remand in that case.1
1. The district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that
Mancini did not show a likelihood of success on the merits warranting a
preliminary injunction. Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20
(2008). The district court reasonably found that SEIU followed proper procedures
in establishing the trusteeship and thus its actions enjoyed a presumption of
validity under 29 U.S.C. § 464(c). Benda v. Grand Lodge of Int’l Ass’n of
Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 584 F.2d 308, 313 (9th Cir. 1978). Specifically,
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The notice of appeal on November 17, 2017, lists the following issues on
appeal: 1) the denial of the preliminary injunction in Garcia, 2) the grant of
defendants’ motion to consolidate Garcia and Mancini, 3) the partial grant of
defendants’ motion to dismiss in Mancini, 4) the partial grant of defendants’
motion to dismiss in Garcia, 5) the denial of remand to state court in Garcia and
the motion to reconsider an earlier denial of remand in that case, and 6) the denial
of the preliminary injunction in Mancini. The first issue is not timely appealed, as
the district court denied the motion on June 7, 2017. Plaintiffs make no argument
in their briefs for the second through fourth issues, and “arguments not raised by a
party in its opening brief are deemed waived.” Smith v. Marsh, 194 F.3d 1045,
1052 (9th Cir. 1999). Hence, we address only issues five and six.
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the district court could reasonably conclude that SEIU had the authority to conduct
an internal needs hearing. Further, the district court did not abuse its discretion in
concluding that the SEIU President reasonably determined that an emergency
situation existed and properly extended the deadline for conducting the trusteeship
hearing for good cause. There is evidence in the record that SEIU properly held a
hearing after it established the emergency trusteeship.
Mancini failed to rebut the presumption of validity with “clear and
convincing proof that the trusteeship was not established or maintained in good
faith.” 29 U.S.C. § 464(c). The district court properly found that the evidence
failed to show that the trusteeship was established or maintained for improper
purposes, in bad faith, or without due process. Id.; 29 U.S.C. § 462. It correctly
noted that the breakdown in union governance was a proper reason for the
trusteeship, that the ten days of notice for the hearing was sufficient, and that the
hearing was full and fair overall. The objectors had an opportunity to make their
concerns known, and there was no evidence that the hearing officer was biased.
Nor did the district court abuse its discretion in declining Mancini’s request
for reinstatement, because there was “some evidence at the disciplinary hearing to
support” the disciplinary action. Int’l Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron
Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers & Helpers, AFL-CIO v. Hardeman, 401 U.S.
3
233, 246 (1971). Although Mancini contends that the SEIU hearing officer’s
report was insufficient evidence to support her removal, the district court did not
err in basing its conclusion on that evidence.
2. We lack jurisdiction over Garcia’s appeal of the denial of the motion
to remand and the motion for reconsideration. Garcia did not file his appeal until
November 17, rendering it untimely. We lack pendent jurisdiction because such
jurisdiction exists only where otherwise non-appealable issues are “inextricably
intertwined with or necessary to ensure meaningful review of the order properly
before us on interlocutory appeal.” Hendricks v. Bank of Am., N.A., 408 F.3d
1127, 1134 (9th Cir. 2005) (quoting Meredith v. Oregon, 321 F.3d 807, 813 (9th
Cir. 2003)) (quotation marks omitted). That is not the case here because the only
issue properly on appeal is the denial of the preliminary injunction in Mancini, and
the motions to remand and to reconsider in Garcia are not “inextricably
intertwined” with the preliminary injunction in Mancini.
Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
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