Trustees Of The New York City District Council Of Carpenters Pension Fund v…

Background

The petitioners included trustees of multiemployer employee-benefit funds operated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Trustees of the New York City Carpenters Relief and Charity Fund, the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York, and the New York City District Council of Carpenters. The Union represented certain Excel employees.

Excel became a member of the Association of Wall Ceiling & Carpentry Industries of New York, Inc. in 2005 and agreed to be bound by agreements between the Association and the Union, including a collective bargaining agreement covering July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2024. Although Excel purported to withdraw from the Association in 2019, the agreement stated that employers that had agreed to be bound remained bound for the agreement’s entire term.

The collective bargaining agreement required Excel to make contributions to the funds and to provide books and payroll records when the funds requested an audit. It also allowed disputes concerning payments to the funds to be submitted to arbitration. Under the funds’ collection policy, if an employer refused to comply with audit procedures, the funds could estimate delinquent contributions using the employer’s highest average weekly hours during a four-week period in the audit period.

Arbitration and Court Proceedings

The petitioners requested an audit covering July 1, 2017, through June 21, 2021. After Excel refused to provide its books and records, the funds performed an estimated audit and determined that Excel had failed to remit $332,967.18 in contributions.

The petitioners initiated arbitration. Arbitrator Roger E. Maher sent Excel notice of the hearing by regular and certified mail. Excel did not appear at the February 4, 2021 hearing. On February 6, 2021, Maher found that Excel had violated the collective bargaining agreement by failing to permit the audit and issued an award totaling $452,253.83: $332,967.18 in estimated unpaid contributions, $49,793.21 in interest, $66,593.44 in liquidated damages, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorneys’ fees, and $1,000 in arbitrator fees. The award also provided for 5.25% interest from the date of the award.

The petitioners filed this action to confirm the award under federal labor law and the Federal Arbitration Act. They served Excel through an authorized agent of the New York Secretary of State. Excel did not answer, oppose the petition, or otherwise appear. The court treated the unanswered petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, but it still reviewed the petitioners’ submissions to determine whether they were legally entitled to judgment.

Court’s Analysis

A court generally must confirm an arbitration award unless it is vacated, modified, or corrected. Judicial review is narrow; an award should be enforced if the record provides even a minimally plausible justification for the arbitrator’s result.

The court concluded that Excel remained bound by the collective bargaining agreement despite its 2019 withdrawal from the Association. The agreement authorized arbitration of disputes concerning payments to the funds and gave the arbitrator authority to decide the submitted issues and award monetary relief. Excel had notice of the arbitration but did not attend. The court found no indication that the arbitrator acted arbitrarily, exceeded his authority, or acted contrary to law. It therefore found no disputed material fact and confirmed the award.

The petitioners also sought fees and costs for the court proceeding. Because Excel failed to comply with the award and did not participate in the case, the court found an award of fees and costs appropriate. It approved $1,867.50 in attorneys’ fees based on 6.30 hours of work and approved $75 in costs.

Disposition

Judge Edgardo Ramos granted the petitioners’ motion for summary judgment. The arbitration award was confirmed, and the Clerk was directed to enter judgment for the petitioners in the amount of $452,253.83, with 5.25% interest from February 6, 2021, through the date of judgment. The court also granted the petitioners’ request for $1,942.50 in attorneys’ fees and costs and provided that the judgment would accrue post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a). The Clerk was directed to close the case.