Trustees for the Mason Tenders District Council Welfare Fund v. Creative Corp.

Background

The Trustees for the Mason Tenders District Council Welfare Fund, Pension Fund, Annuity Fund, and Training Program Fund, John J. Virga in his fiduciary capacity as Director, and Robert Bonanza as Business Manager of the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York filed a petition under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act seeking confirmation of an arbitration award against Creative Corp. The opinion refers to the funds collectively as the “Funds” and to the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York as the “Union.”

During the relevant period, Creative Corp. had a collective bargaining agreement with the Union. The agreement required Creative Corp. to contribute to the Funds and incorporated the Funds’ trust agreements. Those trust agreements authorized the Trustees to pursue arbitration when required contributions were not paid. The plaintiffs alleged that Creative Corp. failed to make required payments from October 14, 2014, through June 30, 2017.

The Funds began arbitration on February 2, 2018, by serving Creative Corp. with a notice of intent to arbitrate. Creative Corp. did not appear at the March 5, 2018 arbitration hearing. The arbitrator issued a default opinion and award finding that Creative Corp. owed the Funds $59,299.27, plus $500 in legal fees and $2,500 in arbitrator fees, for a total of $62,299.27.

Legal standard

An arbitration award is not automatically enforceable as a court judgment; a court must confirm it unless it has been vacated, modified, or corrected under the Federal Arbitration Act. Courts have a narrowly limited role in reviewing arbitration awards and generally defer to the arbitrator’s decision. The court stated that an unanswered petition to confirm an arbitration award is treated as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute over a material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Even though Creative Corp. did not appear, the Court still had to examine the plaintiffs’ submissions to determine whether they showed that no material factual dispute remained.

Analysis and ruling

The Court found that the plaintiffs met their burden. The record showed that Creative Corp. failed to make the contributions required by the collective bargaining agreement, and the incorporated trust agreements authorized the Trustees to pursue arbitration. The arbitration award was not disputed, and the record contained no evidence that it was incorrect.

Judge Analisa Torres therefore granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The Court directed the Clerk to enter judgment against Creative Corp. for $62,299.27 and to close the case.