Trustees Of The New York City District Council Of Carpenters Pension Fund v…

Background

The petitioners were trustees of employee benefit and multiemployer plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), along with the New York City District Council of Carpenters. Their relationship with Skyworx Contracting Inc. was governed by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA required Skyworx to make periodic contributions to the funds.

After an audit covering March 4, 2018, through February 24, 2019, the petitioners claimed that Skyworx had not made all required contributions. They initiated arbitration under the CBA. Arbitrator Roger E. Maher awarded the petitioners $2,663.67 for delinquent contributions and an additional $8,581.71 in costs and fees.

The petitioners filed this action under Section 9 of the Federal Arbitration Act, asking the court to confirm and enforce the arbitration award. Skyworx was served but did not appear and did not file a response. The petitioners moved to have the petition treated as unopposed.

Court's analysis

Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a court must confirm an arbitration award unless it is vacated, modified, or corrected on one of the limited grounds provided by the Act. Those grounds include fraud or corruption, evident partiality, specified misconduct by the arbitrators, exceeding the arbitrators' powers, or a manifest disregard of the law.

Even when the opposing party does not appear, the court must examine the petitioner's submissions to determine whether the petitioner has met its burden. The court evaluated the petition under the standard used for summary judgment, which asks whether there is any genuine dispute about an important fact and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law.

The court found no genuine dispute of material fact. It determined that the CBA allowed the petitioners to seek arbitration based on Skyworx's delinquency and that Arbitrator Maher did not exceed his authority. The court also found that the award reflected the relevant CBA and the auditor's finding. Skyworx presented no evidence of corruption or another basis for vacating the award.

The court separately considered attorney's fees and costs under ERISA. Because Skyworx had not complied with the arbitration award or appeared in the proceedings, the court found the petitioners' request for $2,053 in attorney's fees, based on 9.1 hours of work, and $70 in costs reasonable.

Disposition

Judge J. Paul Oetken granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award and also granted the application for attorney's fees and costs. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for the petitioners in the amount of $11,245.38 plus statutory interest, and to enter an additional $2,133 for attorney's fees and costs for the confirmation proceeding. The Clerk was directed to close the case, and the petitioners were directed to mail a copy of the order to Skyworx.