Trustees of the District Council No. 9 Painting Industry Insurance Fund v. Pal…

Background

The petitioners were the Trustees of the District Council No. 9 Painting Industry Insurance Fund, the Trustees of the District Council No. 9 Painting Industry Annuity Fund, and the District Council No. 9 International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, A.F.L.-CIO. Pal AMG Inc. was the respondent.

Pal AMG was bound by a Memorandum of Agreement and a collective bargaining agreement. Those agreements required certain reports and allowed disputes to be submitted to the Joint Trade Committee for final and binding arbitration. They also provided for a $500 fine for each missing shop steward or remittance report.

The Union alleged that Pal AMG failed to submit required remittance reports for 27 weeks. It sought $13,500 in penalties, calculated as 27 missing reports multiplied by $500. The Joint Trade Committee held a hearing on February 22, 2022. The Union appeared, but Pal AMG did not. On March 11, 2022, the committee found Pal AMG responsible for failing to submit remittance reports and assessed $13,500 in fines.

Pal AMG received the arbitration decision but did not comply with it. It also did not bring an action to vacate or modify the award. After being served with the federal petition and motion, Pal AMG did not appear or oppose the case.

Court’s analysis

The court treated the uncontested petition to confirm the arbitration award as similar to a motion for summary judgment. Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine dispute about a fact that could affect the result. The court explained that its review was limited: it could determine whether the arbitrator acted within the authority granted by the collective bargaining agreement, but it could not review the arbitrator’s decision on the merits.

The court found that the agreements authorized arbitration of the dispute. It also found that the petitioners provided evidence supporting the finding that Pal AMG had failed to submit the required reports. Because Pal AMG had notice but did not appear or contest the evidence, the court concluded that there was no genuine dispute of material fact and that the award had a sufficient basis for confirmation.

The petitioners also requested $4,020 in attorneys’ fees and $559 in costs. The court agreed that fees and costs were available because Pal AMG refused to comply with the arbitration award without challenging it. Applying the method that multiplies reasonable hours by a reasonable hourly rate, the court found that 13.40 hours was more than reasonably necessary. It approved eight hours at $300 per hour, for $2,400 in attorneys’ fees, and awarded the full $559 in requested costs.

Disposition

Judge Lewis J. Liman granted the motion for summary judgment and confirmed the arbitration award. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for the petitioners and against Pal AMG in the amount of $16,459: $13,500 for the arbitration award, $2,400 in attorneys’ fees, and $559 in costs. Post-judgment interest will accrue at the statutory rate, and the action was closed.