Operating Engineers’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v…
Operating Engineers’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California, et al. v. Capurro AG Solutions, LLC
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:22-cv-03004
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 14
In Operating Engineers’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund v. Capurro AG Solutions, Judge Gilliam found Defendants in civil contempt and imposed monetary sanctions.
Operating Engineers’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California and the other Plaintiffs obtained a contempt finding and fee award. Capurro AG Solutions, LLC and Weston K. Capurro must complete the audit, pay the amounts ordered, and comply with the Court’s order.
What happened
In Operating Engineers’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California, et al. v. Capurro AG Solutions, LLC, et al., the Court addressed Defendants’ failure to follow a January 11, 2024, judgment. That judgment required an audit of payroll records from April 1, 2020, through August 31, 2023, and payment of $18,328.71 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
The Court found that Capurro AG Solutions, LLC and Weston K. Capurro did not complete the audit, provide required records, or pay the ordered amount. Weston Capurro also did not appear at scheduled hearings or submit an explanation showing that Defendants could not comply.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. found Defendants in civil contempt. He ordered them to complete the audit and pay $18,328.71 within 14 days, and separately ordered them to jointly and individually pay Plaintiffs an additional $3,416 in attorneys’ fees for bringing the contempt motion.
The detailed version
- Operating Engineers’ Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v… · No. 4:22-cv-03004
- Haywood Gilliam
- Aug. 17, 2026
Background
The Court considered Plaintiffs’ motion asking it to require Capurro AG Solutions, LLC and Weston K. Capurro to explain why they should not be held in contempt and ordered to pay monetary sanctions. The Court had previously entered a January 11, 2024, judgment requiring Defendants to submit their books and records to an audit covering April 1, 2020, through August 31, 2023, and to pay Plaintiffs $18,328.71 in attorneys’ fees and costs.
Plaintiffs served the judgment and later served the contempt-related filings and court notices. The opinion states that Weston Capurro communicated with Plaintiffs’ counsel about settling and indicated that payment and audit materials would be provided, but Plaintiffs reported that the required payment and documentation were not received. Defendants did not appear at the February 19, 2026, hearing on the order to show cause, did not submit a written response or explanation of inability to comply, and did not appear at the May 5, 2026, case management conference.
Legal standard
Civil contempt occurs when a party disobeys a specific and definite court order by failing to take reasonable steps within the party’s power to comply. Plaintiffs had to prove the violation by clear and convincing evidence. Once they did so, the burden shifted to Defendants to explain why they could not comply. The Court also stated that monetary sanctions may coerce compliance, compensate the party harmed by the violation, or do both, and may include attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing the contempt motion.
Court’s analysis
The Court concluded that Defendants failed to comply with the January 11, 2024, judgment by not completing the audit, not submitting outstanding contribution reports and other required records, and not paying the $18,328.71 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The Court also relied on Defendants’ failures after the January 26, 2026, order, including failures to attend hearings, provide audit documents, make promised payments, provide proof of payment, and continue communications with Plaintiffs.
The Court further concluded that Plaintiffs could recover the attorneys’ fees incurred in bringing the contempt motion. It ordered Defendants to pay $3,416 for those additional fees and costs. The opinion also discusses the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s requirement that reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs be awarded when the statutory conditions are met, as well as provisions in the bargaining and trust agreements concerning fees and costs related to collecting delinquent contributions.
Order
The Court found Capurro AG Solutions, LLC and Weston K. Capurro in civil contempt for failing to comply with the January 11, 2024, judgment. Within 14 days of the order, Defendants must permit Plaintiffs’ auditors to complete the required audit and pay Plaintiffs $18,328.71 in attorneys’ fees and costs. Within the same period, Defendants must jointly and severally pay Plaintiffs an additional $3,416 in attorneys’ fees incurred in bringing the contempt motion. The Court stated that failure to fully comply may result in additional relief.
Read the full 14-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.