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

Background

The Petitioners sought confirmation of an arbitration award against Unique Contracting Corporation under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act. The opinion states that the Union was a labor organization and bargaining representative for certain employees of Unique Contracting. Unique Contracting belonged to the Association of Wall Ceiling & Carpentry Industries of New York, Inc. from November 18, 2014, through February 11, 2020, and agreed to be bound by agreements between the Association and the Union.

The Association and Union entered into a collective bargaining agreement covering July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2024. The agreement required Unique Contracting to make contributions to the Funds for covered work within the Union’s trade and geographic jurisdiction. It allowed disputes about unpaid contributions to be submitted to arbitration and authorized recovery of interest, liquidated damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

The Petitioners determined that Unique Contracting had not paid $94,877.67 in contributions for work performed from January 2, 2018, through October 23, 2018. Unique Contracting did not appear at the arbitration hearing. The arbitrator considered the Petitioners’ evidence, including an audit of Unique Contracting’s books and records, and issued an award on December 18, 2019.

The award required Unique Contracting to pay:

- $94,877.67 in unpaid contributions; - $10,010.39 in interest; - $18,975.53 in liquidated damages; - $523.88 in promotional funds; - $400 in court costs; - $1,500 in attorneys’ fees; and - $500 in arbitrator’s fees.

The total award was $126,787.47. The arbitrator also provided that interest at 7.5% would accrue from December 18, 2019. Unique Contracting did not pay any part of the award, and the Petitioners filed the confirmation proceeding. Unique Contracting did not respond to the petition or appear in court.

Court’s Analysis

Because Unique Contracting did not respond, the court treated the petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is a procedure allowing a court to decide a matter when the relevant facts are undisputed and one side is entitled to judgment under the law.

The court explained that its review of the labor arbitration award was very limited. It did not reconsider the arbitrator’s factual decisions or interpretation of the agreement. Instead, it asked whether the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the collective bargaining agreement and whether the award was grounded in that agreement.

The court reviewed the Petitioners’ submissions, including the audit summary, and found undisputed evidence that Unique Contracting failed to make the required contributions. It also concluded that the arbitrator’s additional awards were within the arbitrator’s authority under the agreement. The court therefore granted the Petitioners’ motion and confirmed the award.

Attorneys’ Fees and Interest

The Petitioners also sought attorneys’ fees for the federal court proceeding. The court found that an award was justified because Unique Contracting had agreed to arbitrate contribution disputes, failed to participate in the arbitration, failed to appear in court, and had not paid the award. The collective bargaining agreement also authorized recovery of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs in collection actions.

The court approved $945 for 2.7 hours of the Petitioners’ counsel’s work drafting the confirmation petition. The court also granted the request for prejudgment interest, directing that the 7.5% interest run from December 18, 2019, through the date judgment was entered, rather than treating it as post-award interest.

Disposition

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein granted the petition to confirm the arbitration award. The court awarded judgment to the Petitioners for $126,787.47, plus 7.5% prejudgment interest from December 18, 2019, to the date of judgment, and an additional $945 in attorneys’ fees for the federal court proceeding. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment, add interest and taxable costs, and terminate the case.