A court injunction against a labor rally outside Marin General Hospital has been ruled partially invalid by a state appeals court.
The legal dispute involved the hospital, now known as MarinHealth Medical Center, and the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 39. The union went on strike in February 2019 over wages and benefits.
The hospital sought an injunction to muffle loud union demonstrations outside the campus. It said the clamor — which included car honking and banging on a metal object — was detrimental to the healing of its patients. The hospital also said the demonstrators were impeding traffic flow at the campus.
The union said it was engaging in a lawful labor protest. It denied blocking the hospital driveways and said it was using the public right of way.
Judge Stephen Freccero granted a preliminary injunction. The union appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco.
In a decision released May 7, a unanimous three-judge panel ruled partly in favor of the hospital and partly for the union.
The court ruled that the injunction was a valid way to regulate the noise, and that it did not block the union from publicizing its cause.
“The injunction is overbroad and vague, however, in regulating noisemaking conduct within 1,000 feet of the hospital and in not specifying the point at which the decibel level must be measured,” Justice Henry Needham wrote.
Also, there was no basis to conclude the picketers were unlawfully blocking traffic from entering and leaving the hospital, Needham wrote.
The appeals court sent the injunction back to Marin County Superior Court for modification. The injunction is moot because the contract dispute was resolved and the strike is over. But the ruling could be relevant to the union’s effort to recover legal fees.
The decision is not binding in other cases, but David Reis, a lawyer for the hospital, said the decision is important for two reasons.
“First, the decision affirms the overarching principle that the trial court could enjoin the union from making excessive noise and could set very specific decibel limits in order to protect patients and the general public,” he said. “A hospital is not a factory, and the decision recognizes that being on strike does not give the union license to hit a big metal gong with metal hammers outside patient rooms.
“And second, the decision provides a useful road map for future courts to enjoin similar union conduct by clarifying some of the details that trial courts should include in their injunction orders.”
Reid said a jury trial is pending on whether the union should be liable for compensatory and punitive damages for an “unlawful nuisance.”
“Also at issue will be whether a permanent injunction should be issued to prevent the union from engaging in similar unlawful behavior in the future,” he said.
A union official and the union’s attorneys declined to respond to requests for comment.
