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

Background

The petitioners were trustees of several employee-benefit funds, trustees of the New York City Carpenters Relief and Charity Fund, and the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York. M & K Construction Services Corp. was bound by a collective bargaining agreement covering July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2024. The agreement required M & K to make contributions for covered work and to resolve disputes through arbitration.

The funds’ collection policy required timely contributions and treated unpaid amounts as delinquent. The petitioners alleged that M & K failed to make timely contributions from August 6, 2021, through July 21, 2023, and refused to pay $1,486.89 in late-payment interest.

Arbitration Award

The petitioners began arbitration before Jeffrey G. Stein on May 6, 2024. M & K received notice but did not appear at the June 4, 2024 hearing. On June 12, 2024, the arbitrator found that M & K violated the collective bargaining agreement by failing to pay interest on late contributions. The award required M & K to pay $1,486.89 in late-payment interest, $1,500 in attorneys’ fees, $400 in court costs, and a $1,000 arbitration fee, plus interest at 10.25% annually from the date of the award.

Court’s Review

The petitioners filed the petition to confirm the award on January 7, 2025. M & K was served and received additional time to respond, but it never appeared, opposed the petition, or sought relief from the award.

The court explained that review of a labor arbitration award is highly deferential. An award should generally be confirmed when the arbitrator was interpreting the parties’ agreement and acted within the arbitrator’s authority. Even though the petition was unopposed, the court reviewed the petition and supporting record and found no genuine dispute requiring a trial. It concluded that the award had more than a minimally sufficient justification and confirmed it.

Additional Fees and Interest

The court also granted the petitioners’ request for post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), at the statutory rate beginning when judgment was entered and continuing until M & K’s payment obligations were satisfied.

The petitioners requested $1,903.50 in attorneys’ fees for six hours of work and $132.50 in costs incurred in confirming the award. The court did not decide whether M & K acted in bad faith because the collective bargaining agreement and collection policy independently gave the petitioners a contractual right to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. The court found that the petitioners’ time records and requested amounts were reasonable and necessary.

Disposition

The court granted the petitioners’ unopposed petition to confirm the arbitration award. It entered judgment requiring M & K to pay:

- $4,386.89, plus interest at 10.25% annually from June 12, 2024, under the arbitration award; - post-judgment interest at the statutory rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a); - $1,903.50 in attorneys’ fees; and - $132.50 in costs.