Trustees of the Drywall Tapers and Pointers Local Union No. 1974 Benefit Funds…

Background

The plaintiffs—the Trustees of the Drywall Tapers and Pointers Local Union No. 1974 Benefit Funds and the District Council No. 9, Drywall Tapers and Pointers of Greater New York Local Union 1974, affiliated with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO—moved for a default judgment against Universal Drywall Finishing, Inc. The court held a telephone hearing on April 23, 2020. Universal Drywall did not appear, although the plaintiffs had served it with notice of the motion and of the hearing.

Liability and Damages

The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment as to liability. In a default, the court accepts the factual allegations as true for liability purposes, but it does not automatically accept the claimed amount of damages. The plaintiffs relied on a Trade Agreement and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including 29 U.S.C. § 1132, to support their request for unpaid contributions and interest.

The court found that the plaintiffs’ submissions did not clearly show how they calculated the claimed principal amount of $295,499.41 or the requested 5.25% interest rate. Because the damages were not sufficiently certain or easily calculated from the papers, the court determined that an inquiry into damages was necessary. The opinion states that this inquiry could be conducted through affidavits.

Orders

The court ordered the plaintiffs to file a further affidavit providing more detail about the basis for the requested principal amount and interest rate and to serve that affidavit on Universal Drywall. The court also ordered the plaintiffs to file and serve a proposed order requiring Universal Drywall to explain why final judgment should not be entered concerning damages. The ruling therefore resolved liability but did not determine the amount of damages.