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

Background

The petitioners were the listed carpenter pension, welfare, annuity, apprenticeship, retraining, educational, and industry funds; 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. They asked the court to confirm an arbitration award against Blue Moon Health Management LLC under Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act.

Blue Moon became bound by a project labor agreement and a collective bargaining agreement covering July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2024. Those agreements required Blue Moon to make contributions to the funds and provide its books and records for audits. The collection policy also required interest, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs when the funds had to arbitrate or sue to collect unpaid contributions.

After Blue Moon refused to submit to an audit, the funds conducted an estimated audit and determined that Blue Moon had failed to pay $234,981.80 in contributions. The funds began arbitration. The arbitrator found that Blue Moon failed to provide records for an audit covering June 5, 2019, through December 29, 2021, and failed to pay required contributions. Blue Moon did not appear at the arbitration hearing, although the arbitrator found that it had received proper notice.

The arbitrator ordered Blue Moon to make its books and records available within thirty days and to pay $305,372.39. That amount consisted of $234,981.80 in unpaid contributions, $46,996.36 in liquidated damages, $20,494.23 in interest, $400 in court costs, $1,500 in attorneys’ fees, and a $1,000 arbitrator’s fee. Blue Moon did not comply with the award and did not appear or oppose the petition in federal court.

Court’s analysis

Because the petition was unopposed, the court treated it and the supporting record like a motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when the evidence shows no genuine dispute about an important fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law. Even when a motion is unopposed, the moving party must still establish its legal entitlement to judgment.

The court explained that review of a labor arbitration award is highly limited. The court does not reconsider the arbitrator’s factual or legal conclusions. Instead, it asks whether the arbitrator was at least arguably interpreting and applying the parties’ agreements and acted within the arbitrator’s authority. The court found a sufficient basis for the award in the collective bargaining agreement, the collection policy, the trust agreements, and the evidence presented to the arbitrator.

The court also found no basis to vacate, or set aside, the award. The record did not show corruption, fraud, improper bias, arbitrator misconduct, or that the arbitrator exceeded the arbitrator’s authority. The court also found no evidence that the arbitrator acted in manifest disregard of the law.

Attorneys’ fees and costs

The court separately considered the petitioners’ request for $4,635.50 in attorneys’ fees and $77 in costs incurred in the federal case. It found that the agreements authorized recovery of fees and costs and that Blue Moon had not justified its refusal to participate in the arbitration or comply with the award. The court therefore determined that an award of fees was appropriate.

The court reduced the requested hourly rate for Nicole Marimon from $350 to $325 and Maura Moosnick’s rate from $275 to $225. It approved the $120 hourly rate for the legal assistants. These rates produced $3,930.50 in additional attorneys’ fees. The court also approved the requested $77 in costs. Thus, the attorneys’ fees and costs application was granted in part, with the requested fees reduced.

Disposition

Judge Katherine Polk Failla granted the petitioners’ motion for summary judgment and confirmed the arbitration award. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for $309,379.89, consisting of the $305,372.39 arbitration award, $3,930.50 in additional attorneys’ fees, and $77 in costs. The court granted post-judgment interest at the statutory rate under 28 U.S.C. § 1961, directed that pending motions be terminated, and closed the case.