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

Background

The petitioners included trustees of four multi-employer employee-benefit funds, 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. The Union was the certified bargaining representative for certain A&C Brothers employees. The Union and A&C Brothers were parties to a collective bargaining agreement, or CBA, entered into on or about October 3, 2018.

The CBA required A&C Brothers to make contributions to multi-employer employee-benefit funds and to provide pertinent books and records needed for an audit. After A&C Brothers failed to provide its records, the petitioners initiated arbitration. The arbitration hearing was held on February 24, 2022, after three notices, but A&C Brothers did not appear. On March 15, 2022, the arbitrator found that A&C Brothers violated the CBA by failing to submit to an audit. The arbitrator ordered A&C Brothers to make its records available and to pay the Funds $2,900 in court costs, attorneys’ fees, and the arbitrator’s fee.

The petitioners later demanded payment and compliance. A&C Brothers represented that it would make its books and records available but did not do so. The petitioners filed this action under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, or LMRA, to enforce the arbitration award. A&C Brothers was served but did not appear or respond.

Confirmation of the Arbitration Award

The court treated the unanswered petition as an unopposed motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is a decision entered when the material facts are not genuinely disputed and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law.

The court explained that review of a labor arbitration award is highly deferential. An award should be confirmed if the arbitrator was at least arguably interpreting or applying the contract and acted within the scope of the arbitrator’s authority. Here, the CBA plainly required A&C Brothers to make pertinent records available for an audit. The CBA also allowed arbitration of disputes concerning payments allegedly owed to the Funds. The court therefore found that the arbitrator applied the CBA and acted within the authorized scope of the arbitration.

The petition for confirmation was granted. A&C Brothers was ordered to make its books and records available to the petitioners for an audit, and the $2,900 award was confirmed.

Attorneys’ Fees and Costs

The petitioners requested $577.50 in attorneys’ fees and $77 in costs. The court noted that Section 301 of the LMRA does not itself provide for attorneys’ fees in an action to confirm and enforce an arbitration award. However, a court may award fees and costs under its equitable powers when a party refuses without justification to comply with an arbitration decision. The CBA also required an employer to pay reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs if court proceedings resulted in a judgment for the Funds.

The court found that A&C Brothers had failed to participate in the arbitration despite three hearing notices, had not complied with the award, and had not opposed or appeared in the court action. A&C Brothers had not offered any justification for refusing to comply. The court found the requested fees and costs reasonable and granted the request for $577.50 in attorneys’ fees and $77 in costs, totaling $654.50.

Post-Judgment Interest and Disposition

The court granted the request for post-judgment interest at the statutory rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961. Interest was to accrue from the date judgment was entered until payment was made.

The petition for confirmation of the arbitration award was granted. The court directed the Clerk to enter judgment in favor of the petitioners and close the case.