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

Background

The petitioners sought confirmation of an arbitration award under section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act. The petitioners included trustees of several employee benefit funds, 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 opinion refers to the first three groups collectively as the “Funds” and to the District Council as the “Union.” Providence Construction Corp. is a New York corporation.

Providence was a member of the General Contractors Association of New York and agreed to be bound by a collective bargaining agreement between that association and the Union. The agreement required Providence to make contributions to the Funds for covered employee work and to provide books and payroll records for audits. It also allowed disputes about unpaid contributions to be submitted to arbitration and permitted awards of interest, liquidated damages, costs, and attorney fees.

An audit covering October 1, 2018, through March 21, 2021, identified a principal deficiency of $422.16 and additional unpaid contributions of $11,197.10. Providence did not pay those amounts. After Providence failed to appear at a January 19, 2022 arbitration hearing, the arbitrator issued an award on March 2, 2022, requiring Providence to pay $27,467.97. The award included unpaid contributions, interest, liquidated damages, audit costs, late-payment interest, promotional fund costs, court costs, attorney fees, and arbitrator fees.

Court Proceedings and Legal Standard

The petitioners filed this action to confirm the award after Providence had not paid any part of it. Providence was served but did not appear. The court also ordered Providence to explain why the petition should not be treated as having no opposition; Providence did not respond. The court therefore treated the petition as unopposed.

The court explained that confirming an arbitration award is generally a streamlined process that turns the award into a court judgment unless the award is vacated, modified, or corrected. The court applied a highly deferential review standard. It also treated an unanswered confirmation petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, meaning a request for judgment when there is no genuine dispute about a material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Even when such a motion is unopposed, the court must review the submission and determine whether the legal requirements for judgment are satisfied.

Ruling

The court found sufficient justification for the arbitration award. The collective bargaining agreement authorized arbitration to collect delinquent benefit contributions and authorized the arbitrator to award applicable interest, liquidated damages, and costs. The arbitrator found substantial and credible evidence that Providence was delinquent in making fringe-benefit contributions. The court found no indication that the arbitrator acted arbitrarily, exceeded the arbitrator’s authority, or acted contrary to law. It therefore confirmed the award.

The court also found an award of attorney fees and costs appropriate because Providence had not appeared or sought to modify or vacate the arbitration award. The court found reasonable the requested billing rates of $275 per hour for associate Maura Moosnick and $120 per hour for two legal assistants. It also found that twelve hours of work was reasonable and granted the requested $77 in service fees and legal costs.

Disposition

Judge Edgardo Ramos granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The court directed the Clerk to enter judgment for the petitioners in the amount of $29,635.97, consisting of the $27,467.97 arbitration award, $2,091 in attorney fees, and $77 in costs. Postjudgment interest will accrue at the statutory rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961. The court also directed the Clerk to close the case.