Trustees for The Mason Tenders District Council Welfare Fund v. Construction

Background

The petitioners were employee-benefit funds and their representatives. Dhother Construction, Inc. was a construction contractor and a party to a 2015–2018 project labor agreement with the Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York. The agreement required covered employers to make contributions to the Funds and incorporated trust agreements that allowed the Funds’ trustees to begin arbitration if an employer failed to meet its obligations.

The Funds demanded arbitration on May 31, 2019, alleging that Dhother had failed to pay required benefit contributions and other amounts for its workers. Dhother did not appear at the June 24, 2019 arbitration hearing, but the arbitrator proceeded after finding that Dhother had adequate notice. Based on evidence including an audit of Dhother’s books and records, the arbitrator awarded $17,705.28 in unpaid fringe benefits, $1,292.69 in dues and political-action-committee contributions, $968.82 in current interest, $1,458.06 in interest on late contributions, $1,652.49 in audit costs, $1,937.64 in liquidated damages, $500 in legal fees, and $1,300 in arbitration costs. The Funds said Dhother had made no payments after demands for payment.

Court’s Analysis

The Funds petitioned to confirm the award in federal court and later moved for summary judgment, a procedure for deciding a case when there is no genuine dispute over important facts. Dhother did not appear or oppose the motion.

The court explained that confirming an arbitration award is a limited review. The court generally must confirm the award unless it is vacated, modified, or corrected, and an award should be upheld if the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the parties’ agreement and there is at least a minimally supportable basis for the result. Even though the motion was unopposed, the court still examined the Funds’ evidence to determine whether they met their burden.

The court concluded that the evidence established that the parties were bound by the project labor agreement and trust agreements and that the arbitrator based the award on the audit report and Dhother’s unpaid obligations. The court found no genuine issue of material fact and determined that the award had at least the required support under the deferential standard.

Disposition

The court granted the Funds’ motion for summary judgment and confirmed the July 11, 2019 arbitration award. The court directed the Clerk to close the case. This ruling directly concerns the Funds’ effort to enforce the award against Dhother Construction, Inc.