District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of…

Background

District Council filed a petition under Section 301(c) of the Labor Management Relations Act to confirm an arbitration award against South Island. South Island was bound by a collective bargaining agreement between the Association of Wall-Ceiling & Carpentry Industries of New York, Inc. and District Council. The agreement required final and binding arbitration of disputes and allowed the arbitrator to hold a hearing without a party that failed to appear. It also required the employer and union to share the arbitration costs and allowed the prevailing party to recover court costs and reasonable attorney fees after confirmation of an award.

The disputes concerned alleged violations involving three jobs. District Council alleged that South Island failed to timely issue a wage check to carpenter Enrico Palucci, failed to notify District Council that work had started at two job sites, and failed to request a shop steward for one of those jobs. Arbitrator Richard Adelman held a hearing on May 10, 2023, after notice to the parties. South Island did not appear. On May 17, 2023, the arbitrator issued an award requiring South Island to pay Palucci $105, pay $93.83 to District Council on Palucci’s behalf, pay District Council $9,654.84, give up the privilege of using the conditional two-person rule under the agreement, and pay $2,100 as its share of the arbitrator’s fee.

South Island did not pay any part of the award. It also did not appear in the federal case or seek to modify or vacate the award. The court treated the unanswered petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, meaning a request for judgment because the record showed no genuine dispute requiring a trial.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that arbitration awards receive very limited judicial review. A court generally must confirm an award unless it has been vacated, modified, or corrected. The court found sufficient justification for the arbitrator’s decision because the collective bargaining agreement authorized a hearing when a party failed to appear and authorized the arbitrator to decide based on the evidence presented.

The court found no indication that the arbitrator acted arbitrarily, exceeded the arbitrator’s authority, or acted contrary to law. It therefore confirmed the portions of the award requiring payments to Palucci and District Council. The court also found that South Island owed $2,100 for its half of the arbitrator’s $4,200 fee because the agreement required the parties to share that fee, the arbitrator specified each party’s share, South Island did not pay its share, and the petition requested that payment.

The court awarded District Council attorney fees because South Island refused to comply with the award without challenging it in court. The court found reasonable the requested rate of $300 per hour and 6.4 hours of work, totaling $1,920. It also awarded $672.93 in costs: a $402 filing fee, $254 in process-server fees, and $16.93 in shipping fees. Finally, the court granted postjudgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a).

Disposition

The petition to confirm the arbitration award was GRANTED. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for District Council in the amount of $14,546.6, consisting of $9,853.67 in arbitration-award amounts, $2,100 in arbitrator’s fees, $1,920 in attorney fees, and $672.93 in costs. Interest was to accrue at the statutory postjudgment rate, and the case was closed.