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

Background

The petitioners were trustees of multiemployer labor-management trust funds, trustees of a charitable organization, a not-for-profit corporation, and a labor organization. The respondent, Clemente Brothers Contracting Corporation, was a private company and an employer under the Labor Management Relations Act.

The company and the labor organization were bound by a collective bargaining agreement. The agreement required the company to make contributions to the funds based on employees’ work hours and to provide books and records so the funds could audit those contributions. An audit covering October 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, found that the company had not made all required payments.

The agreement allowed disputes about payments to the funds to be decided by an arbitrator. It also allowed recovery of unpaid contributions, interest, liquidated damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and collection costs.

Arbitration and Petition

The petitioners began arbitration on May 16, 2017, and sent the company notice of the hearing. The hearing took place on September 7, 2017. The company did not appear. Based on the petitioners’ testimony and evidence, the arbitrator issued an award on September 11, 2017.

The award determined that the company owed $42,953.87: $19,257.17 in delinquent contributions, $9,691.89 in interest, $8,080.98 in liquidated damages, $1,747.65 in late-payment interest, $241.68 for a promotional-fund fee, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorneys’ fees, $500 in arbitrator’s fees, and $1,534.50 in audit costs. Interest was to accrue at 5.75 percent from the award date.

The petitioners filed this federal court petition to confirm the award and requested attorneys’ fees and costs for the court proceeding, as well as post-judgment interest. The company did not respond, appear in the case, or pay any part of the award.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that confirming an arbitration award is a summary proceeding that turns the award into a court judgment. Even when a petition is unopposed, the court must review the petitioners’ submissions and determine whether they showed that no genuine dispute of material fact prevented judgment. The court treated the petition as similar to a motion for summary judgment, which asks whether the evidence requires a trial or instead establishes the moving party’s entitlement to judgment as a matter of law.

The court found that the arbitrator had considered the evidence presented at the hearing, including the collective bargaining agreement and the auditor’s testimony. The award was within the authority granted by the agreement and was consistent with its terms. The court found no evidence that the award was unlawful, arbitrary, or beyond the arbitrator’s powers. It therefore granted the unopposed petition to confirm all parts of the award.

The court also granted the petitioners’ request for attorneys’ fees and costs arising from the court action. It found that the collective bargaining agreement entitled the petitioners to reasonable fees and costs for collecting delinquent funds and that the requested rates and amounts were reasonable.

The court further granted the request for post-judgment interest under 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), which requires interest on civil money judgments entered by federal district courts.

Disposition

The petition to confirm the arbitration award was granted. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment confirming the $42,953.87 award, with interest at 5.75 percent accruing from September 11, 2017, until entry of judgment. The judgment was also to include $1,245 in attorneys’ fees and $75 in costs. Post-judgment interest on the entire amount was to accrue from the date of judgment at the rate provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a). The Clerk was directed to close the case.