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

Background

The petitioners sought confirmation of an arbitration award against Saheet Construction Corp. under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act. The petitioners included the New York City District Council of Carpenters and trustees for the union’s employee-benefit funds.

The opinion states that Saheet signed a letter of assent around September 30, 2016, binding it to a project labor agreement and related collective bargaining agreements. Those agreements required contributions to employee-benefit funds for each hour worked by a covered union employee, allowed the funds to audit Saheet’s records, and required arbitration of contribution disputes.

An audit covering September 13, 2016, through September 25, 2018, found $22,568.18 in unpaid contributions. After a demand for arbitration, the arbitrator found that Saheet had violated the collective bargaining agreement and issued a February 6, 2020 award requiring payment of $39,991.40 plus 6.75% interest. The award included the principal deficiency, interest, liquidated damages, promotional fund contributions, audit and arbitration costs, and attorneys’ fees. No one appeared for Saheet at the arbitration, although the arbitrator found that Saheet had received sufficient notice. Saheet also did not participate in the federal case.

Court’s Analysis

The court explained that confirmation of an arbitration award is ordinarily a summary proceeding that turns the award into a court judgment unless the award is vacated, modified, or corrected. Review under the labor law is very limited. The court does not reconsider the arbitrator’s factual or contract-related decisions; it asks whether the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the collective bargaining agreement and at least arguably interpreted or applied that agreement.

Because the petition was unopposed, the court treated it and the supporting record as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. The court nevertheless required the petitioners to provide enough evidence to support judgment. It found that they met that burden and that the undisputed facts showed the arbitrator acted within the scope of the arbitrator’s authority.

Ruling

Judge Valerie Caproni granted the petition and confirmed the arbitration award. The court entered judgment in the petitioners’ favor for $39,991.40 plus 6.75% prejudgment interest from February 6, 2020.

The court also granted the petitioners’ request for $748 in attorneys’ fees and $70 in service fees, for a total of $818. It found the award justified because Saheet was required to arbitrate contribution disputes, did not participate in the arbitration or federal case, had not paid the award, and was subject under the collection policy to reasonable fees and costs for collecting delinquent contributions. The court imposed post-judgment interest at the statutory rate until the judgment was paid and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.