Bay Area Counties Roofing Industry Promotion Fund v. Bartek International, Inc.
- Beth Freeman
- 5:21-cv-06025
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 8
Bay Area Counties Roofing Fund v. Bartek International, Inc.: Judge Freeman granted default judgment and awarded unpaid contributions, damages, interest, fees, and costs.
The judgment affects Bartek International, Inc., which was ordered to pay the six employee benefit plans and their trustee and to submit delinquent and current monthly contribution reports and payments. It also affects the plaintiffs, who received the monetary awards and default judgment.
What happened
Bay Area Counties Roofing Industry Promotion Fund and other plaintiffs sued Bartek International, Inc. over unpaid contributions to six employee benefit plans. Bartek did not appear after being served, and the clerk entered default.
The plaintiffs alleged that Bartek failed to pay at least $78,718.45 in contributions from October 2019 through February 2020. They also sought liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, and an order requiring future reports and payments under the parties’ agreements.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment. The court awarded $78,718.75 in unpaid contributions, $15,743.75 in liquidated damages, $19,115.65 in interest, and $8,310.93 in attorneys’ fees and costs, and ordered Bartek to submit delinquent and current monthly reports and payments.
The detailed version
- Bay Area Counties Roofing Industry Promotion Fund v. Bartek International, Inc. · No. 5:21-cv-06025
- Beth Freeman
- Apr. 8, 2022
Background
Six employee benefit plans and their trustee, Doug Ziegler, brought claims against Bartek International, Inc. under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA). The plaintiffs alleged that Bartek entered agreements with Roofers Local 81 and Roofers Local 95 requiring it to contribute to the plans. They alleged that Bartek failed to make contributions from October 2019 through February 2020.
The complaint asserted a claim for delinquent contributions under 29 U.S.C. § 1145 and a claim for breach of collective bargaining agreements under 29 U.S.C. § 185. Bartek was served but did not appear. The clerk entered default, and the plaintiffs moved for default judgment.
Court’s analysis
The court found that it had federal-question jurisdiction based on the ERISA and LMRA claims and personal jurisdiction over Bartek. It also found that Bartek had been properly served.
Applying the factors used to decide whether to enter a default judgment, the court concluded that the plaintiffs would have no other means of recourse without a judgment; the complaint alleged plausible and meritorious ERISA and LMRA claims; the requested sum was proportional to the alleged violations; and nothing indicated a material factual dispute or excusable neglect. Although the federal rules favor decisions on the merits, the court found that Bartek’s failure to participate made such a decision impossible.
Relief awarded
The court awarded $78,718.75 in unpaid contributions, $15,743.75 in liquidated damages, and $19,115.65 in interest. It also awarded $7,702.50 in attorneys’ fees and $608.43 in costs, for a combined fees-and-costs award of $8,310.93.
The court ordered Bartek to timely submit all delinquent and currently due monthly contribution reports and payments required by the parties’ agreements. The plaintiffs were ordered to serve Bartek with the order and judgment and file proof of service. The court retained jurisdiction pending compliance with the order and judgment.
The opinion contains a numerical discrepancy: some portions refer to $78,718.45 in unpaid contributions, while the order awards $78,718.75.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.