Board of Trustees of the United Furniture Pension Fund A v. Premier Restoration…

Background

The Board of Trustees of the United Furniture Pension Fund A filed a complaint against Premier Restoration Technologies. After Premier did not respond, the clerk entered a certificate of default. The Board then moved for default judgment.

Report and recommendation

Magistrate Judge Gorenstein issued a report and recommendation advising the district court to grant the motion and award the requested default judgment of $1,387,104, plus interest accruing at $380.03 per day from March 1, 2021, until judgment was entered. Based on the Board’s submissions, Judge Gorenstein found that Premier failed to uphold its obligation to invest monthly contributions into the Board’s multi-employer pension plan and consequently withdrew from the plan.

The report and recommendation further found that Premier was subject to withdrawal liability under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, in the amount of $1,720,641, and liquidated damages of $231,184 under ERISA’s fee-and-damages provisions. The parties were given 14 days to file written objections, but no party objected.

District court ruling

When no party objects to a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation, the district court may adopt it if the record shows no clear error. Judge Caproni reviewed the recommendation and found no clear error. She adopted it in full and granted the Board’s motion for default judgment.

The court directed the clerk to enter judgment against Premier for $1,387,104, plus interest at $380.03 per day from March 1, 2021, until the date judgment was entered. The court also directed the clerk to terminate all open motions and close the case. Because the parties had been warned about the consequences of not objecting, the court stated that their failure to object precluded appellate review of the decision.