Sullivan v. Prestige Stone & Pavers Corp.

Background

Jeremiah Sullivan sued Prestige Stone & Pavers Corp. in his fiduciary capacities for several employee benefit funds and as president of the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local Union No. 1, New York, B.A.C.I.U., AFL-CIO. The claims arose under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA).

The collective bargaining agreements required Prestige to make contributions to the funds and pay union dues and assessments on behalf of its union workers. After Prestige failed to provide records needed for a complete audit, Sullivan sued, alleging that Prestige had not made required payments or made its books and records available for an audit. The complaint also alleged that Professional Pavers Corp. was Prestige’s alter ego and therefore liable for the same violations. Sullivan later settled the claims against Professional Pavers, leaving Prestige as the remaining defendant.

Summary-judgment motion and objections

Sullivan moved for summary judgment, which asks the court to decide a claim when the relevant facts do not require a trial. The motion sought damages, attorney’s fees, and litigation costs. Prestige did not contest liability or damages, but argued that Sullivan’s attorney’s-fee request was excessive and included work related to the settled claims against Professional Pavers.

The magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation proposed granting summary judgment and awarding $145,881.76: $23,248.42 for audit costs, liquidated damages, and interest on delinquent contributions and dues; $119,130.75 in attorney’s fees; and $3,502.59 in litigation costs.

Court’s analysis

The Court explained that ERISA and the collective bargaining agreements entitled Sullivan to attorney’s fees and litigation costs. It applied the lodestar approach, which evaluates the reasonableness of fees by considering the appropriate hourly rate and the number of hours reasonably worked.

The Court reviewed Prestige’s objections for clear error because they repeated arguments made before the magistrate judge. It found no clear error. The Report and Recommendation had already reduced the requested fees by $9,922.50 to account for work related to Professional Pavers: fees incurred in July 2017 were reduced by 50 percent, and fees incurred in August 2017 were reduced by 100 percent. The Court found the remaining fee award reasonable and within its discretion.

Ruling

Judge Analisa Torres overruled Prestige’s objections and adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety. The Court granted Sullivan’s motion for summary judgment and awarded $145,881.76, consisting of $23,248.42 in audit costs, liquidated damages, and interest; $119,130.75 in attorney’s fees; and $3,502.59 in litigation costs. The Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion and close the case.