Nilsen v. Top Down Construction LLC
- Eric Tostrud
- 0:24-cv-03650
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 8
In Nilsen v. Top Down Construction, Judge Tostrud granted the Funds’ motion in part, ordered reports, set May liability, and deferred default judgment.
The two employee-benefit funds and their trustees, and Top Down Construction LLC. Top Down must provide the missing reports and is liable for the specified May 2024 amounts; additional amounts remain to be determined.
What happened
In Nilsen v. Top Down Construction LLC, two employee-benefit funds alleged that Top Down Construction failed to submit required work reports and pay fringe-benefit contributions under labor agreements and federal law. Top Down did not respond or appear.
The court found that the allegations established valid claims and ordered Top Down to provide complete reports for work performed from June through November 2024. The court also found Top Down liable for specified May 2024 contributions, liquidated damages, interest, and collection fees and costs.
Judge Eric C. Tostrud granted the motion for default order and injunction in part, but did not enter a final default judgment because the total amount owed for later months and attorneys’ fees and costs had not yet been determined.
The detailed version
- Nilsen v. Top Down Construction LLC · No. 0:24-cv-03650
- Eric Tostrud
- Jan. 13, 2025
Background
Pat Nilsen and John Nesse, as trustees of the Carpenters and Joiners Welfare Fund, and Wayne Nordin and Pat Nilsen, as trustees of the Carpenters and Joiners Apprenticeship and Journeymen Training Trust Fund, sued Top Down Construction LLC. The opinion refers to the funds collectively as the “Funds.”
The Funds alleged that Top Down agreed to a collective bargaining agreement and related trust agreements requiring it to submit monthly reports of covered employee work hours and pay fringe-benefit contributions. The Funds alleged that Top Down failed to timely pay $6,265.98 in contributions for reported work in May 2024. They also alleged that Top Down failed to submit reports and contributions for June through November 2024. The claims were based on the collective bargaining agreement and Section 515 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), a federal law governing employee-benefit plans.
Top Down did not respond or appear. The Clerk entered Top Down’s default, and the Funds moved for a default order and injunction.
Analysis
A default means that the complaint’s factual allegations, other than allegations about the amount of damages, are treated as true. The court must still determine whether those facts establish a valid legal claim and must determine the terms and amount of any relief.
The court found that the allegations established that Top Down breached its obligation to pay the May 2024 contributions and breached its reporting obligations for June through November 2024. Because the Funds could not determine the later amounts owed without knowing the hours worked, the court found it appropriate to require Top Down to provide the missing reports.
The court did not enter a default judgment at this stage. The total amount of contributions, liquidated damages, interest, and attorneys’ fees and costs for June through November 2024 could not yet be calculated. The Funds also had not submitted the total attorneys’ fees and costs incurred to date or amounts that might be incurred later.
Order and Disposition
The court granted in part the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Default Order and Injunction. It granted the request for injunctive relief and ordered Top Down, within 14 days after being served with the order, to submit complete and accurate monthly fringe-benefit reports for June through November 2024.
The order also found Top Down liable for $6,265.98 in unpaid fringe-benefit contributions for reported covered work in May 2024, $626 in liquidated damages, interest of $333.84 or $1.37 per day, and attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in collecting that delinquency, under ERISA and the collective bargaining agreement.
After receiving the missing reports, the Funds may file a motion seeking entry of default judgment for additional unpaid contributions, liquidated damages, interest, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs for June through November 2024. Top Down may respond within 10 days after service of that motion. The court will then examine the submissions and issue an order of judgment, unless it orders a hearing.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.