Teamsters Local No. 807, Truck Drivers, Warehousemen, Exposition, Convention…

Background

Teamsters Local No. 807, Truck Drivers, Warehousemen, Exposition, Convention, and Tradeshow Employees, Greater New York Vicinity and Metropolitan Area, I.B.T. petitioned to confirm an arbitration award against Showtime on the Piers, LLC. The parties’ collective bargaining agreement required arbitration of unresolved disputes and required Showtime to pay sick pay, distribution pay, and vacation pay for bargaining-unit employees.

After Showtime did not respond to Teamsters’ demand for unpaid amounts, Teamsters filed a grievance and submitted it to an agreed-upon arbitrator. Showtime received notice of the alleged agreement violation and the arbitration, but did not participate in the May 11, 2021 hearing. On May 24, 2021, the arbitrator issued an award directing Showtime to pay $34,963.82. Teamsters later served Showtime with the award, but Showtime did not pay it and did not appear in the federal case.

Court’s analysis

The court explained that an unopposed request to confirm an arbitration award is generally treated like an unopposed motion for summary judgment, rather than as a default judgment. Confirmation is ordinarily a limited review that turns an arbitration award into a court judgment unless the award is vacated, modified, or corrected. The court found that Teamsters supplied the collective bargaining agreement and arbitration award and established that no material fact was disputed. Because Showtime offered no opposition, the court granted the petition to confirm the award.

Teamsters also requested $4,080 in attorney’s fees for 10.2 hours at $400 per hour, plus costs. The court found that fees and costs were justified because Showtime did not participate in arbitration, did not pay the award, and did not appear in the confirmation proceeding. But the court rejected the $400 hourly rate because Teamsters had been billed at $275 per hour and counsel did not provide a basis for the higher rate. The court therefore awarded $2,805 in attorney’s fees and $400 for the filing fee.

The court also ordered nine-percent annual prejudgment interest from May 24, 2021, the date of the arbitration award, through the date judgment was entered. It awarded post-judgment interest at the statutory rate from entry of judgment until payment.

Disposition

Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald granted Teamsters’ petition to confirm the arbitration award and granted its request for attorney’s fees in part. The clerk was directed to terminate the motion and close the case.