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

Background

The petitioners included trustees of employee benefit funds, the Trustees of the New York City District Council of Carpenters Relief and Charity Fund, the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York, and the New York City District Council of Carpenters. The opinion states that the Funds were governed in part by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and that the Union represented certain employees of JAS Construction Co., Inc., also identified as Sunny Professional Services, Inc. JAS was incorporated in New York and had its principal place of business there.

JAS entered into a project labor agreement and related collective bargaining agreements. Those agreements required JAS to make contributions to the Funds and to provide books and payroll records for auditing. They also allowed disputes about fund payments to be submitted to arbitration and authorized awards of unpaid contributions, interest, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.

An audit covering August 5, 2011, through September 29, 2013, concluded that JAS had failed to pay $311.04 in required contributions. The arbitrator held a proceeding on March 25, 2019. JAS did not appear, but the arbitrator found that JAS had received legally significant notice and proceeded after receiving testimony and evidence. The arbitrator awarded $4,755.10, consisting of principal, interest, liquidated damages, promotional fund contributions, court costs, attorney’s fees, arbitrator’s fees, and audit costs, with interest accruing at 7.5% annually. JAS had not paid any part of the award.

The petitioners filed this case on February 5, 2020, seeking confirmation of the award, interest, $728 in attorney’s fees, and $70 in costs. JAS did not oppose the petition.

Legal standard

The court explained that an arbitration award must be converted into a court judgment before it can be enforced through the court. Confirmation is generally a summary proceeding, and the court must confirm the award unless it is vacated, modified, or corrected. Arbitration decisions receive substantial deference; the court must enforce an award when there is at least a minimally plausible basis for the result.

Because JAS did not answer the petition, the court treated it as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when the evidence shows there is no genuine dispute over an important fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Even without an opposition, the court independently examined whether the petitioners met that burden.

Rulings

Confirmation of the arbitration award. The court granted the petition to confirm the award. It found that the agreements plainly covered the dispute because it arose from JAS’s alleged failure to make required fund contributions. The arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the agreements, which allowed him to decide the issues submitted and award monetary damages, interest, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and costs.

The court also found that the petitioners had submitted evidence that JAS received adequate notice of the arbitration. The arbitrator considered testimony from the auditor and the audit summary, and nothing before the court suggested that the award amount or the accounting methods were incorrect. The court therefore concluded that no material factual dispute prevented enforcement.

Interest. The court granted prejudgment interest from the date of the arbitration award through the date of judgment at the requested annual rate of 7.5%. It also granted post-judgment interest calculated from the date judgment was entered at the statutory rate.

Attorney’s fees and costs. The court held that attorney’s fees and costs could be awarded because JAS had failed to comply with an enforceable arbitration decision without offering a justification. The petitioners requested $728 in fees for 5.3 hours of work. The court found the number of hours reasonable but reduced attorney Nicole Marimon’s requested hourly rate from $350 to $300. It found the $120 hourly rate for legal assistants reasonable. The court therefore granted $708 in attorney’s fees and $70 in costs.

Disposition

Judge Ronnie Abrams granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for $4,755.10, plus 7.5% annual prejudgment interest from March 25, 2019, through the date of judgment, post-judgment interest, $708 in attorney’s fees, and $70 in costs. The Clerk was also directed to close the case.