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

Background

The petitioners were trustees of several funds, the Carpenter Contractor Alliance of Metropolitan New York, and the New York City District Council of Carpenters. The opinion states that the funds included multiemployer labor-management trust funds operating under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA. Earth Construction Corp. became bound by a collective bargaining agreement after joining the Building Contractors Association, Inc., around March 9, 2012.

The agreement required Earth Construction to make contributions to the funds for covered employee work and to provide books and payroll records for an audit. It also incorporated a collection policy that allowed the funds to estimate delinquent contributions if an employer refused an audit. The agreement permitted arbitration of disputes concerning payments to the funds and allowed recovery of delinquent contributions, interest, liquidated damages, and reasonable collection costs and attorney’s fees.

The petitioners requested an audit covering March 2016 through the present, but Earth Construction refused to provide its records. The petitioners then began arbitration before Roger E. Maher. Earth Construction received notice but did not attend the November 21, 2020 hearing or request an adjournment. After considering the evidence, the arbitrator found that Earth Construction violated the agreement and awarded $672,439.14: $474,476.20 in estimated principal deficiencies, $100,167.70 in interest, $94,895.24 in liquidated damages, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorney’s fees, and $1,000 in arbitrator’s fees. The award also provided for 5.25% interest from the date of the award.

Petition to Confirm the Arbitration Award

The petitioners filed the petition on February 18, 2021, and served Earth Construction on February 28, 2021. Earth Construction did not respond or otherwise appear. The petitioners asked the court to treat the unopposed petition as a motion for summary judgment, which is a request for judgment when no genuine dispute of material fact requires a trial.

The court explained that review of an arbitration award under section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act is limited. The court must determine whether the arbitrator was at least arguably interpreting or applying the collective bargaining agreement, acted within the scope of the arbitrator’s authority, and did not disregard the agreement’s plain language. The court may not set aside an award merely because the arbitrator may have made a factual or legal mistake, so long as the award stayed within the authority granted by the agreement.

The court found no genuine dispute of material fact. The arbitrator had found that Earth Construction was bound by the agreement, that the agreement required production of records for an audit, and that Earth Construction failed to make its records available despite notice of the arbitration. The court concluded that these findings were consistent with the agreement and within the arbitrator’s authority. It also found that the award’s amounts were supported by the agreement, the collection policy, and the evidence considered by the arbitrator. The court therefore confirmed the $672,439.14 arbitration award.

Attorney’s Fees, Costs, and Interest

The petitioners separately requested $1,715 in attorney’s fees and $75 in costs for the court proceeding. The court held that an award of fees and costs was proper because Earth Construction had not appeared or justified its failure to follow the arbitration award, and the collective bargaining agreement authorized reasonable fees and costs for enforcement actions.

The petitioners submitted billing records for 0.5 hours of partner time at $350 per hour and 5.6 hours of associate time at $275 per hour. The court found that the total 6.1 hours were reasonable and nonduplicative, but reduced the hourly rates. It reduced Nicole Marimon’s rate to $325 per hour and Marlie Blaise’s rate to $225 per hour. The court therefore granted attorney’s fees at the reduced amount of $1,422.50 and granted the requested $75 in costs. The court did not decide the rate for legal assistants because the billing history contained no legal-assistant entry.

Disposition

Judge John P. Cronan granted the petition. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for $673,936.64, consisting of the $672,439.14 arbitration award, $1,422.50 in attorney’s fees, and $75 in costs. The court awarded 5.25% interest on the arbitration award from November 21, 2020, through the judgment date, and ordered post-judgment interest at the statutory rate. The case was closed.