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

Background

The Funds, the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York, and the New York City District Council of Carpenters sued to confirm an arbitration award against Plus K Construction, Inc. The petition arose under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act and a collective bargaining agreement incorporated into a project labor agreement.

Plus K agreed to make contributions to the Funds based on employee work hours and to provide books and records for audits. An audit covering February 23, 2017, through December 15, 2017, found that Plus K had not paid required contributions. The petitioners began arbitration on September 6, 2019, and the hearing took place on October 24, 2019. At the hearing, Plus K did not dispute the petitioners’ evidence but said it could not pay because of losses and tax liens.

In an October 26, 2019 award, the arbitrator found that Plus K owed $40,702.37: $23,680.52 in delinquent contributions, $3,325.99 in interest, $4,736.10 in liquidated damages, $212.26 in late-payment interest, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorneys’ fees, $500 for the arbitrator’s fee, and $6,347.50 in audit costs. The award provided for interest at 7.5% from the award date. Plus K did not pay any part of the award, oppose the petition, or appear in the case.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that confirming an arbitration award is a limited review that generally turns the award into a court judgment. Even when a petition is unopposed, the court must examine the petitioners’ submissions and determine that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

The court treated the petition as similar to a summary-judgment motion and found no genuine dispute of material fact. The arbitrator had considered testimony, the auditor’s review of Plus K’s records, and the relevant collective bargaining agreement. The court concluded that the award was within the arbitrator’s authority under that agreement.

The court also explained that an arbitration award may be set aside only in specified circumstances, including fraud, evident arbitrator partiality, serious procedural misconduct, or the arbitrator’s exceeding the granted authority. The court found no evidence that the award was unlawful, arbitrary, or beyond the arbitrator’s powers.

Ruling

Judge Paul G. Gardephe granted the unopposed petition to confirm all parts of the arbitration award. The court directed the Clerk to enter judgment for $40,702.37, with interest at 7.5% from October 26, 2019, until entry of judgment.

The court also granted the petitioners’ request for attorneys’ fees in this court action because the collective bargaining agreement allowed recovery of reasonable fees and costs for collecting delinquent contributions, and Plus K had not challenged or sought to vacate the award. The judgment was to include $797.50 in attorneys’ fees and $70 in costs. Post-judgment interest on the entire amount would accrue from the judgment date at the rate provided by 28 U.S.C. § 1961(a), and the case was closed.