Trustees of the New York City District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund v…

Background

The petitioners were trustees of several funds, a corporation, and a labor union. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act funds were multiemployer labor-management trust funds. The union represented certain employees of GSR Concrete Tov, LLC, and GSR was a member of the Building Contractors Association.

Through that membership, GSR agreed to be bound by a collective bargaining agreement between the association and the union. The agreement required covered employers to make contributions to the funds and to provide books and payroll records for audits. It also allowed disputes about fund payments to be submitted to arbitration and authorized interest, costs, liquidated damages, and attorney’s fees in specified circumstances.

The dispute involved GSR’s failure to pay interest that had accrued on late contributions for the period from March 20, 2012, through January 29, 2013. The petitioners initiated arbitration before Roger E. Maher. In an award dated June 26, 2019, the arbitrator found that GSR violated the collective bargaining agreement and ordered it to pay $3,813.90: $1,413.90 in late-payment interest, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorney’s fees, and $500 for the arbitrator’s fee. The arbitrator also awarded interest at an annual rate of 7.5% from the award’s date.

Court’s analysis

GSR did not respond to the petition, even after the court extended its deadline to January 10, 2020. The court explained that a petition to confirm an arbitration award is generally evaluated like a motion for summary judgment based on the petition and supporting record, rather than through a default judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute about a material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law.

Review of an arbitration award is very limited. A court generally may not reconsider the arbitrator’s factual or contractual conclusions if the award draws its essence from the collective bargaining agreement and has at least a barely colorable justification.

The court found that the record showed GSR was bound by the collective bargaining agreement, had violated it by withholding late-payment interest, and owed $3,813.90 plus 7.5% post-award interest. Because the petition was unopposed and there was no genuine dispute of material fact, the court found that the petition should be granted.

Ruling

The court granted the petition to confirm the June 26, 2019 arbitration award. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for $3,813.90, plus interest at 7.5% from the arbitration award’s date through the date of judgment.

The court also awarded the petitioners $1,207.00 in attorney’s fees and $75.00 in costs. It directed that post-judgment interest on the entire judgment accrue at the rate provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), and directed the Clerk to close the case. Judge John G. Koeltl signed the order on March 12, 2020.