Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. West River Masonry
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. West River Masonry, Inc.
- Eric Tostrud
- 0:21-cv-01257
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 7
In Bricklayers v. West River Masonry, Judge Tostrud granted in part a motion requiring reports while postponing damages and final default judgment.
Bricklayers received an order requiring West River to submit specified missing benefit reports, but the court did not yet determine the amount West River owed or enter a final default judgment. West River must provide the reports and may respond to a later request for monetary judgment.
What happened
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation sued West River Masonry, Inc., alleging that West River violated labor agreements and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to submit monthly work reports and pay required benefit contributions. West River did not respond or appear.
The court found that the allegations established a valid claim and ordered West River to provide complete monthly benefit reports for October through December 2020 and March through May 2021. The court did not enter a default judgment or determine the amount of unpaid contributions, damages, interest, fees, or costs because those amounts depended on the missing reports.
Judge Tostrud granted Bricklayers’ motion for default judgment in part by granting injunctive relief and setting a process for deciding the amounts owed later. After receiving the reports, Bricklayers may seek a further judgment, and West River may respond.
The detailed version
- Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation v. West River Masonry · No. 0:21-cv-01257
- Eric Tostrud
- Aug. 16, 2021
Background
Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Service Corporation, which the opinion describes as a servicing and collection agent for certain benefit funds, sued West River Masonry, Inc. Bricklayers alleged that West River was bound by two collective bargaining agreements and related collection requirements. Those agreements required West River to submit monthly reports showing employees’ work hours and to pay fringe-benefit contributions for those hours.
Bricklayers alleged that West River failed to submit reports and pay contributions for October through December 2020 and March through May 2021. The complaint also alleged earlier delinquencies involving January and February 2021, but Bricklayers later reported that West River had paid the base contributions and liquidated damages for those months. West River was served, did not respond or appear, and the clerk entered its default.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that, after default, the complaint’s factual allegations generally are treated as true, except allegations about the amount of damages. Legal conclusions are not automatically admitted. The court determined that Bricklayers’ allegations established a valid claim under the collective bargaining agreements and Section 515 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which requires employers to make contributions to multiemployer benefit plans as required by a plan or collective bargaining agreement.
The court concluded that Bricklayers could not determine the amount West River owed without knowing how many hours its employees had worked. It therefore found that an order requiring West River to produce the missing reports was appropriate injunctive relief—an order requiring a party to take or stop a specified action.
The court declined to enter a final default judgment at that time. The amount of unpaid contributions, statutory damages, liquidated damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and costs had not yet been determined. The court also noted that Bricklayers expected to incur additional fees and costs, making the total amount premature to decide.
Order
Judge Eric C. Tostrud ordered that Bricklayers’ motion for entry of default judgment was GRANTED IN PART. The court granted Bricklayers’ request for injunctive relief and required West River, within 14 days after service of the order, to submit complete and accurate monthly fringe-benefit reports for the specified months.
The order did not enter a default judgment for a specific amount. After receiving the reports, Bricklayers may file and serve a motion seeking judgment for unpaid contributions, liquidated damages, interest, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. West River may respond within 10 days after being served with that motion. The court will then review the submissions and issue an order of judgment, without a hearing unless it orders one.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.