Teamsters Local 456 Pension v. PCI Industries Corp.
Teamsters Local 456 Pension, Health & Welfare, Annuity, Education & Training, Industry Advancement, and Legal Services Funds v. PCI Industries Corp.
- Philip Halpern
- 7:21-cv-09316
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 22
In Teamsters Local 456 Pension Fund v. PCI Industries Corp., Judge Halpern denied a conference request about consolidating cases and terminated the pending motion at Doc. 53.
The plaintiffs’ request for a consolidation conference was denied, and the Clerk of Court was directed to terminate the motion sequence pending at Doc. 53. The order did not resolve the underlying payment dispute.
What happened
In Teamsters Local 456 Pension Fund v. PCI Industries Corp., the plaintiffs asked the court to hold a conference about combining this case with a second lawsuit concerning alleged unpaid contributions and other amounts.
The plaintiffs said settlement efforts and an audit had not resolved the dispute, and they argued that combining the cases could avoid duplicative proceedings and benefit the parties and the court. The opinion does not describe any response from the defendants to the consolidation request.
Judge Halpern denied the plaintiffs’ request for a conference and directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion sequence pending at Doc. 53. The order did not decide the underlying contribution dispute.
The detailed version
- Teamsters Local 456 Pension v. PCI Industries Corp. · No. 7:21-cv-09316
- Philip Halpern
- May 4, 2023
Background
The plaintiffs are the Teamsters Local 456 funds and Westchester Teamsters Local Union No. 456. The defendants are PCI Industries Corp. and Robert Persico, individually. The dispute concerns contributions, deductions, and other amounts allegedly owed to the plaintiffs.
At a February 28, 2023 conference, the plaintiffs withdrew a motion seeking entry of a judgment by confession. The earlier order required the plaintiffs to meet and confer with defense counsel and request a pre-motion conference before seeking relief concerning or enforcement of a settlement agreement. It also barred the plaintiffs from seeking relief based on future contribution obligations.
After settlement efforts failed, the plaintiffs obtained audit reports concerning PCI Industries Corp.’s books and records. The plaintiffs’ May 3, 2023 letter said they had commenced a second lawsuit concerning amounts described in those reports and requested a conference to discuss consolidating the two cases under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42.
Court’s Action
The court denied the plaintiffs’ request for a conference concerning consolidation. The court did not provide a reason for the denial in the order. The Clerk of Court was respectfully directed to terminate the motion sequence pending at Doc. 53.
The order addressed only the conference request and the docket entry. It did not resolve whether PCI Industries Corp. or Robert Persico owed the claimed contributions, deductions, or other amounts.
Read the full 22-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.