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

Background

The Trustees of the New York City District Council of Carpenters Pension Fund, Welfare Fund, Annuity Fund, and Apprenticeship, Journeyman Retraining, Educational and Industry Fund; the Trustees of 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 brought the case against Reliable Build, Inc. They asked the court to confirm an arbitration award. The petition was unopposed.

Court’s analysis

The court stated that an arbitration award should be confirmed when the arbitrator acted within the scope of the arbitrator’s authority and the award came from the parties’ agreement. A court generally must confirm the award unless it is vacated, modified, or corrected. The court treated the unopposed petition as a motion for summary judgment, which is a request for judgment based on the submitted record when there is no genuine dispute requiring a trial.

After reviewing the petition, the supporting memorandum, and the accompanying documents, the court found that the arbitrators acted within the scope of their authority. The court also found that post-judgment interest was warranted. It further found that the request for attorneys’ fees was proper based on the petitioners’ representations that Reliable Build had refused to comply with the award.

Order and judgment

Judge Victor Marrero granted the petition. The court entered judgment awarding the petitioners $407,104.54 plus interest from August 12, 2021—the date of the arbitration award—through January 25, 2022, at 5.25% per year. The court also awarded post-judgment interest at the statutory rate, $1,527.50 in attorneys’ fees, and $77 in costs arising from the petition.