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

Background

The petitioners were the Trustees of several carpenters’ benefit funds, the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York, and the New York City District Council of Carpenters. They brought a petition under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act seeking confirmation of an arbitration award against Walsingham Construction Inc. Walsingham did not appear in the case to oppose the petition.

During the relevant period, Walsingham was bound by a collective bargaining agreement requiring it to make contributions to the funds for covered employee work and to provide books and payroll records for audits. The agreement also allowed either party to submit disputes about payments to the funds to arbitration.

An audit covering March 30, 2016, through May 16, 2017, found that Walsingham had not made all required contributions. After an arbitration hearing on July 15, 2019, the arbitrator issued an award on July 18, 2019. The award required Walsingham to pay $51,265.80, consisting of a principal deficiency of $28,244.94; interest of $5,306.93; liquidated damages of $5,648.99; non-audit late-payment interest of $1,509.53; promotional funds of $152.16; court costs of $400; attorney’s fees of $1,500; the arbitrator’s fee of $500; and audit costs of $8,003.25. The award also provided for 7.5% annual interest from its issuance date.

Legal standard

The Federal Arbitration Act permits a party to ask a court to confirm an arbitration award. The court must confirm the award unless a statutory basis exists to vacate, modify, or correct it. The court explained that judicial review of arbitration awards is narrowly limited and that an award should be enforced when there is at least a barely colorable justification for its result, even if the court might disagree with the arbitrator on the merits.

Because Walsingham did not answer the petition, the court treated the unanswered petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Even though Walsingham did not appear, the court still reviewed the petitioners’ submissions to determine whether they met that burden.

Analysis and ruling

The court held that the petitioners were entitled to confirmation. The record showed that Walsingham failed to make required contributions, the collective bargaining agreement authorized arbitration, and neither the award nor the supporting evidence was disputed. The court therefore confirmed the $51,265.80 arbitration award.

The court also held that the petitioners were entitled to post-judgment interest at the rate required by 28 U.S.C. § 1961. It directed entry of judgment for $51,265.80, plus pre-judgment interest at 7.5% per year from July 18, 2019, through the date of judgment, and post-judgment interest at the statutory rate.

The court further awarded the petitioners $3,415 in attorney’s fees and $190 in costs for bringing the petition. It found those amounts justified because Walsingham had not satisfied the arbitration award or offered a justification for failing to do so. The court approved the requested fees based on contemporaneous time records and approved the requested service and filing costs.

Disposition

The petition to confirm the arbitration award was GRANTED. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment, terminate the motion at ECF No. 12, and close the case.