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

Background

The petitioners were the New York City District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund, Welfare Fund, Annuity Fund, and Apprenticeship, Journeyman Retraining, Educational and Industry Fund; the New York City Carpenters Relief and Charity Fund; the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York; and the New York City District Council of Carpenters. The opinion collectively calls the funds the “Funds” and the Council the “Union.”

Furniture Business Solutions, LLC executed a collective bargaining agreement with the Union on January 10, 2019. The agreement required the company to contribute to the Funds for covered work, follow the Funds’ collection policies, and provide books and payroll records for audits. It also required arbitration of disputes concerning payments to the Funds.

The petitioners determined that the company failed to remit $45,815.27 in contributions for work performed from January 21, 2019, through March 3, 2019. They initiated arbitration before Roger E. Maher. After notice was sent by regular and certified mail, the arbitrator held a hearing on December 18, 2019. Furniture Business Solutions, LLC and its representatives did not attend.

The arbitrator found, based on substantial and credible evidence, that the company violated the agreement and owed $60,167.57: $45,815.27 in unpaid contributions, $2,704.73 in interest, $9,163.05 in liquidated damages, $84.52 in promotional fund contributions, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorneys’ fees, and $500 in arbitrator’s fees. The arbitrator also provided for 7.5% annual interest from the award’s issuance date.

The petitioners filed the confirmation petition on April 7, 2020, and later filed an unopposed motion for summary judgment. The company was properly served but did not appear or oppose the motion.

Legal standard

Under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, federal courts have jurisdiction over petitions to confirm labor arbitration awards. Confirmation is a limited review that turns an arbitration award into a court judgment. The court generally does not reconsider the arbitrator’s factual or legal conclusions. Instead, it asks whether the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the collective bargaining agreement, applied or construed that agreement, and avoided ignoring its plain language.

For an unopposed confirmation petition, the court treats the petition and supporting record similarly to a summary-judgment motion. The petition must still establish that the petitioners are entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Court’s analysis

The court found no indication that the award was obtained through fraud or dishonesty or that the arbitrator acted outside the agreement’s broad authority. The record showed that the petitioners conducted an audit under the agreement, that the company failed to make required payments, and that the arbitrator based the principal, interest, liquidated damages, and costs on contractual provisions and undisputed evidence.

The court therefore granted the petitioners’ motion and confirmed the award, including 7.5% annual prejudgment interest from December 18, 2019, through the date of judgment.

The court also granted the request for post-judgment interest. Interest was to accrue at the statutory rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961 from entry of judgment until the company paid the judgment in full.

The court held that attorneys’ fees and costs for bringing the petition were justified because the company had agreed to binding arbitration, the agreement and collection policy allowed recovery of reasonable collection fees and costs, and the company neither complied with the award nor provided a justification for its failure to do so. Applying the lodestar method—reasonable hours multiplied by a reasonable hourly rate—the court approved $350 per hour for partner Ms. Marimon and $120 per hour for the legal assistants, but reduced Ms. Blaise’s rate from $275 to $225 per hour.

The discussion states that the petitioners were entitled to $2,052.50 in attorneys’ fees and $76.90 in costs. However, the conclusion directs entry of judgment for $60,167.57, prejudgment interest, and “attorney’s fees and costs in the amount of $2,079.40.” The opinion does not explain this discrepancy.

Disposition

The petition to confirm the arbitration award was GRANTED. The Clerk of Court was directed to enter judgment for the petitioners for $60,167.57, plus 7.5% prejudgment interest from December 18, 2019, through the judgment date, attorneys’ fees and costs in the amount stated in the conclusion—$2,079.40—and statutory post-judgment interest until payment in full. The Clerk was also directed to close the case.