ANGELICA VARGAS VS. INDEPENDENT SERVICE WORKERS OF AMERICA (C-000103-19, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-3426-19

Background

Plaintiffs are ISWA union members (including Vargas and Aziz) representing Jersey City Housing Authority employees; ISWA is the certified bargaining representative.
Vargas, an ISWA executive and former Recording Secretary, was tried in an internal union proceeding, denied outside counsel, declined to participate, and was expelled; that expulsion was not previously presented to PERC.
Aziz filed an Unfair Practice Charge with PERC alleging officer misconduct (failure to process grievances, failure to supply bylaws, questionable elections), but PERC letter said the charge lacked specificity and invited amendment to establish jurisdiction under applicable rules.
Plaintiffs then filed a two-count Chancery complaint combining Aziz’s allegations (count one) and Vargas’s expulsion challenge (count two); they sought financial records, constitution ratification proof, and, for count two, appointment of a receiver.
Trial court granted defendants’ summary judgment, finding plaintiffs’ counterstatement inadequate, concluding PERC had primary jurisdiction over the expulsion claim, and denying a receiver; dismissal was with prejudice but subject to plaintiffs filing claims before PERC.
On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed: PERC has primary jurisdiction over the expulsion claim; count one also appears within PERC’s scope and Aziz failed to timely amend his PERC charge; receiver denial affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether PERC has primary jurisdiction over Vargas’s expulsion and right to counsel at internal union hearing	Vargas: denial of outside counsel and resulting expulsion are internal disputes but implicate statutory rights to "assist" and thus can be heard in court	Defendants: PERC is the exclusive/primary administrative forum for unfair practice/election/disciplinary disputes under the Employer-Employee Relations Act	Held: PERC has primary jurisdiction over the expulsion claim; the matter should be presented to PERC first
Whether Chancery properly granted summary judgment on count one (Aziz’s allegations re: grievances, records, elections)	Plaintiffs: factual disputes exist about constitution ratification, financials, and grievance processing precluding summary judgment	Defendants: documents were produced in discovery; plaintiffs’ counterstatement lacked adequate citations and failed to create genuine issues; PERC jurisdiction was invited but Aziz failed to amend his charge	Held: Affirmed summary judgment as to count one for somewhat different reasons—the claims fall within PERC’s purview and Aziz did not timely amend his PERC charge; discovery deficiencies supported the court’s ruling
Whether a receiver should have been appointed over ISWA	Plaintiffs: management malfeasance/non-feasance justified receiver appointment	Defendants: no evidence of malfeasance or non-feasance meriting extraordinary relief	Held: Appointment of a receiver was not warranted; denial affirmed (but can be revisited if PERC proceedings produce new facts)

Key Cases Cited

Magic Petroleum Corp. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 218 N.J. 390 (explains doctrine of primary jurisdiction and court deferring to agency expertise)
In re PANJ, 442 N.J. Super. 185 (App. Div. 2015) (PERC jurisdiction appropriate where suspensions/expulsions barred members from assisting union and implicated Employer-Employee Relations Act)
Sheet Metal Workers' Intern. Ass'n Local Union 22 v. Kavanagh, 443 N.J. Super. 39 (App. Div. 2015) (union-constitution interpretation may involve contract principles and be litigable in court in some contexts)
Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520 (sets summary judgment standard requiring evidence sufficient for a reasonable factfinder)
Manalapan Realty, L.P. v. Twp. Comm. of the Twp. of Manalapan, 140 N.J. 366 (discusses appellate review of trial court legal determinations)
Curzi v. Raub, 415 N.J. Super. 1 (App. Div. 2010) (articulates four-factor primary jurisdiction test)