District Council 16 Northern California Health and Welfare Trust Fund v. Herron…

Background

The plaintiffs are employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The defendants were Kevin Herron, Dora Herron, Herron Painting Co., a California partnership, and Herron Painting, Inc., described in the opinion as a suspended California corporation. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to report employee work hours and pay required fringe-benefit contributions for October 2021 through December 2022. The opinion states that the defendants had not submitted contribution reports for October 2021 through February 2025.

The bargaining and trust agreements required employers to keep time records, submit monthly contribution reports, pay contributions by the fifteenth day of the following month, and pay interest and liquidated damages on delinquent contributions. The agreements also provided for attorneys’ fees and other collection expenses. The defendants did not respond to the plaintiffs’ requests for admission, so the requests were deemed admitted and conclusively established for this action.

Liability

The plaintiffs moved for summary judgment against Kevin Herron and Dora Herron. The court determined that it had federal subject-matter jurisdiction under ERISA and provisions concerning enforcement of collective bargaining agreements.

Under California law, partners generally are jointly and severally liable for the obligations of a partnership. The court found that Kevin and Dora Herron were partners of Herron Painting Co. and that the record did not show that the partnership was a limited liability partnership or that either individual became a partner after the relevant liabilities arose. Because the partnership was liable for the amounts awarded to the plaintiffs, the court held that Kevin and Dora Herron were also jointly and severally liable for all amounts due in the action.

Because the court found Kevin Herron liable as a partner, it did not consider the plaintiffs’ alternative arguments that he was personally liable under the Agreement of Employers or under theories of successor or alter-ego liability. The court also did not consider the plaintiffs’ arguments about anticipated contract defenses because the defendants did not oppose the motion.

Damages and Fees

The court found that the plaintiffs had supported their claim for estimated unpaid contributions of $228,253.56. The opinion’s damages table listed $45,650.63 in liquidated damages and $19,023.56 in interest, for $292,927.75 in unpaid contributions, liquidated damages, and interest.

The court found that the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ billing rates were reasonable. It deducted $940 for clerical work included in paralegal billing entries and awarded $19,805 in attorneys’ fees. It also awarded $2,760.58 in costs, for combined attorneys’ fees and costs of $22,565.58.

Disposition

The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment against Kevin Herron and Dora Herron. Its conclusion awarded $228,253.56 in principal, $19,023.56 in prejudgment interest, and $22,565.58 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Although the body of the opinion found that the plaintiffs were entitled to liquidated damages and the damages table listed $45,650.63 for them, the final numbered award list omitted a separate liquidated-damages award and also contained numbering and total-amount inconsistencies.