Trustees of the District Council No. 9 Painting Industry Insurance Fund v…

Background

The petitioners were the Trustees of the District Council No. 9 Painting Industry Insurance Fund, the Trustees of the District Council No. 9 Painting Industry Annuity Fund, and the District Council No. 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, A.F.L.-C.I.O. The opinion states that the Union is a labor union and that the Funds are fiduciaries of jointly administered multi-employer labor-management trust funds organized and operated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Speedo Corp., also known as Speedo Corporation, is identified as a New York corporation.

A collective bargaining agreement between Speedo and the Union required disputes to be submitted to final and binding decisions by the Union’s Joint Trade Committee. The dispute concerned Speedo’s alleged failure to register a job for overtime work with the Union and failure to submit wages and benefits for Union member Gilberto Tavarez. After a December 18, 2020 hearing, the Joint Trade Committee found that Speedo violated the agreement and awarded $150 in wages for Tavarez, $51.73 in benefits to the Funds, and $16,766.92 in fines to the Joint Trade Committee of the Painting and Decorating Industry.

The award was delivered to Speedo, and the petitioners later served a demand letter after Speedo failed to comply. The petitioners filed a petition to confirm the award and sought attorney’s fees and costs. Speedo did not respond. The petitioners later refiled the petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment.

Court’s Analysis

Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a court generally must confirm an arbitration award when the parties agreed that a judgment could be entered on the award, unless the award is vacated, modified, or corrected under the statute. The court explained that an unanswered petition to confirm an arbitration award is treated as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, but the court must still examine the submission to determine whether the petitioner has shown entitlement to judgment as a matter of law.

The court found that the petitioners provided undisputed evidence that the parties agreed to arbitrate the dispute. It also found that the dispute fell within the collective bargaining agreement’s arbitration provision and that the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by that agreement. The court further found that Speedo participated in the arbitration and had an opportunity to present arguments and defenses. The petitioners therefore met their burden for confirmation.

The court also considered the request for attorney’s fees and costs. It concluded that fees and costs were appropriate because Speedo agreed to arbitration, failed to comply with the award, failed to provide a justification for that failure, and did not appear in the federal proceedings. The court approved counsel’s $300 hourly rate but reduced compensation for 0.9 hours of ministerial tasks to a $120 hourly rate. It awarded $2,538 in attorney’s fees and approved $547 in costs.

Ruling

Judge Ronnie Abrams granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The court directed the Clerk to enter judgment against Speedo for $150 in wages on behalf of Gilberto Tavarez, $51.73 in benefits on his behalf, and $16,766.92 in fines to the Joint Board of the Painting and Decorating Industry. The court also directed entry of judgment for the petitioners against Speedo for $2,538 in attorney’s fees and $547 in costs.

The court directed the Clerk to terminate the motion pending at Docket 12 and close the case.