Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. Contracting
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. Dominionaire Contracting, Inc. and Robert Griffin
- Jeffrey Bryan
- 0:24-cv-04462
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 12
In Bricklayers v. Dominionaire, Judge Bryan granted a default judgment against a contractor and its owner for unpaid employee benefit contributions under federal pension law.
Employers bound by collective bargaining agreements who are required to make contributions to multi-employer ERISA benefit plans, and the benefit funds that collect and enforce those contributions. Also relevant to guarantors of employer obligations under such agreements.
What happened
In Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. Dominionaire Contracting, Inc. and Robert Griffin, a nonprofit that collects and enforces employer contributions to construction-trade benefit funds sued a Minnesota contractor and its owner for failing to pay and report required fringe-benefit contributions under a collective bargaining agreement and the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The defendants never answered the lawsuit or appeared at any court hearings, so the court clerk had already entered a default against them. The court had previously found the defendants liable but had not yet entered a full damages award because the plaintiff's calculations were unclear.
The plaintiff moved to amend the earlier order and, in doing so, provided detailed documentation explaining how it calculated the amounts owed. The court accepted those calculations based on the defendants' own submitted monthly reports and the rates set out in the collective bargaining agreement. The court declined to expand relief to cover months after April 2025 because the original complaint only alleged a contract running through that date — though the court left open the possibility of revisiting that if the plaintiff amends its complaint or submits additional proof that the contract automatically renewed.
Judge Bryan granted the motion in part and entered a default judgment ordering Dominionaire Contracting, Inc. and Robert Griffin to pay jointly and severally: $70,165.76 in unpaid contributions, liquidated damages, and interest for May through August 2024 (with interest continuing to accrue at $12.83 per day); and $28,047.06 in attorney fees and costs. The court also ordered the defendants to immediately produce benefit reporting forms for October 2024 through April 2025, with a mechanism for the plaintiff to seek additional damages once those forms are submitted.
The detailed version
- Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. Contracting · No. 0:24-cv-04462
- Jeffrey M. Bryan
- Nov. 5, 2025
Background
Plaintiff Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation (the Service Corporation) is a Minnesota nonprofit that acts as fiduciary and collection agent for a group of multi-employer benefit plans (the BAC Funds) under ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1002(21). The BAC Funds provide pension, health, vacation, training, and other benefits to workers in the construction trades under the jurisdiction of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local Union 1 Minnesota/North Dakota/South Dakota (Local 1).
Defendant Dominionaire Contracting, Inc. is a Minnesota contractor that signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with Local 1 effective May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2025. Under ERISA § 1145 and the CBA, Dominionaire was required to submit monthly fringe-benefit reports and make employer contributions to the BAC Funds for all covered work hours. Defendant Robert Griffin, Dominionaire's owner, personally guaranteed those obligations. Failure to make timely contributions carries penalties: 8% per annum interest on unpaid contributions and 10% liquidated damages on unpaid contributions, plus attorney fees and costs under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2).
Dominionaire became delinquent on contributions from at least May 2024 through August 2024 and failed to report for at least October 2024, with delinquency continuing through at least April 2025. The defendants did not respond to pre-litigation demands, did not answer the complaint, and did not appear at any court hearings.
Procedural History
The Service Corporation filed suit in December 2024. The Clerk entered default against the defendants. The Service Corporation moved for default judgment. On June 13, 2025, the court granted the motion in part, finding liability for unpaid contributions for May 2024 through April 2025 and ordering production of fringe-benefit reports for October 2024 through April 2025. However, the court declined to enter a damages award at that time due to inconsistencies in the plaintiff's damage calculations, directing the plaintiff to submit a detailed declaration explaining the sum-certain of damages.
The Service Corporation then filed a motion styled as a motion to amend the June 13, 2025 order. The court construed this as a renewed motion for default judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2) — which governs court-entered default judgments when the amount is not a simple, fixed sum — because the plaintiff cited no authority for amending the prior order and Rule 60 (governing relief from final judgments) did not apply.
Legal Standards
Under the two-step default judgment process, a party must first obtain a Clerk's entry of default (Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a)), then apply to the court for judgment (Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b)(2)). Upon default, factual allegations in the complaint are deemed admitted, but the court must still assess whether those allegations state a legitimate cause of action; a defaulting party does not admit conclusions of law. Marshall v. Baggett, 616 F.3d 849, 852 (8th Cir. 2010). Courts determine damages by a preponderance of the evidence and may rely on documentary evidence. Everyday Learning Corp. v. Larson, 242 F.3d 815, 818 (8th Cir. 2001).
Liability
The court found that the unchallenged factual allegations state a legitimate ERISA cause of action. ERISA § 1145 requires contributing employers to comply with contribution obligations under a CBA. Dominionaire, as a signatory to the CBA, was obligated to make contributions and submit monthly reports; it failed to do so. Griffin personally guaranteed those obligations. The court entered default judgment on liability against both defendants for unpaid fringe-benefit contributions for May 2024 through April 2025.
The court declined to extend liability or relief to May 2025 through September 2025. Although counsel for the Service Corporation argued at the November 4, 2025 hearing that the CBA auto-renewed for another twelve months, that fact was not alleged in the complaint. The court noted that if the Service Corporation amends its complaint or submits a declaration attesting that the CBA remains in effect through at least September 2025, and provides proof of service on defendants, it will consider amending the order.
Injunctive Relief
Under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3) and § 1132(g)(2)(E), ERISA authorizes injunctive and other equitable relief, including orders requiring defendants to produce records. The court ordered defendants to immediately produce complete and accurate monthly fringe-benefit reporting forms for October 2024 through April 2025. The court declined to order production of forms for May through September 2025, consistent with its liability ruling.
Damages for May–August 2024
The Service Corporation submitted detailed documentary evidence — including the defendants' own submitted monthly reports, the CBA's applicable rates, and a step-by-step explanation of the calculations — showing the following amounts owed for May through August 2024:
- Unpaid contributions: $58,554.05 - Liquidated damages (10%): $5,855.41 - Accrued interest (as of October 14, 2025): $5,474.04, continuing at $12.83 per day
The total as of the date of the order was $70,165.76, with daily interest continuing to accrue until the date of entry of judgment. The court found these amounts supported by the evidence and authorized under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2) and the CBA.
Damages for October 2024–April 2025
Because Dominionaire has not yet submitted the required monthly reports for October 2024 through April 2025, the court established a mechanism: upon submission of those forms, if the defendants fail to pay all amounts due, the plaintiff's counsel may file an affidavit detailing the additional amounts owed. Defendants have 14 days to respond. The court will then amend the judgment to include those sums without a further hearing.
Attorney Fees and Costs
Under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D) and the CBA's Collection Policy, the Service Corporation is entitled to reasonable attorney fees and costs. The court applied the lodestar method — multiplying hours reasonably expended by a reasonable hourly rate — and considered factors including results achieved, reasonableness of rates, and amount in controversy. Counsel submitted documentation for fees and costs through October 14, 2025, and represented at the November 4, 2025 hearing that he had spent two additional hours preparing for the hearing at $410.00 per hour.
The court awarded $27,291.50 in attorney fees and $755.56 in costs, totaling $28,047.06.
Disposition
The court granted the motion in part and denied it in part. Judgment was entered for the Service Corporation as follows:
- Liability established against both defendants for the period May 2024 through April
- 2. Defendants ordered to immediately produce fringe-benefit reporting forms for October 2024 through April
- 3. Damages of $70,165.76 (contributions, liquidated damages, and interest through the date of the order), plus $12.83 per day until entry of judgment, awarded jointly and severally against Dominionaire and Griffin.
- Attorney fees and costs of $28,047.06 awarded.
- A process established for additional damages once the required reports are submitted.
- Relief for May 2025 onward denied at this time.
Read the full 12-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.