Sheet Metal Workers' Nat'l Pension Fund v. Amodeo
| Decision Date | 27 May 2016 |
| Docket Number | 09-CV-0121 (SJF)(ARL) |
| Parties | SHEET METAL WORKERS' NATIONAL PENSION FUND, NATIONAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE COMMITTEE FOR THE SHEET METAL AND AIR CONDITIONING INDUSTRY, SHEET METAL OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH INSTITUTE TRUST, INTERNATIONAL TRAINING INSTITUTE FOR THE SHEET METAL AND AIR CONDITIONING INDUSTRY, and NATIONAL STABILIZATION AGREEMENT OF THE SHEET METAL INDUSTRY FUND, Plaintiffs, v. MATTHEW AMODEO, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
I. BACKGROUND
On January 13, 2009, plaintiffs Sheet Metal Workers' National Pension Fund, National Energy Management Institute Committee for the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Industry, Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust, International Training Institute for the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Industry and National Stabilization Agreement of the Sheet Metal Industry Fund (collectively, "plaintiffs"), all employee benefit plans within the meaning of § 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1002(3), commenced this action against Rolf's Metal Tops Inc. ("RMTI") and Joseph C. Iorio ("Iorio"), inter alia, pursuant to Section 502 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132, seeking, inter alia, to enforce the obligations of RMTI to make contributions to the Funds; to reclaim property of the Funds converted by RMTI and Iorio; and to remedy RMTI's and Iorio's breaches of fiduciary obligations and commission of prohibited transactions. (See Docket Entry ["DE"] 1).
On March 6, 2009, plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint, inter alia, adding Coverex Corporate Risk Solutions ("Coverex") and defendant Matthew Amodeo ("Amodeo") as additional defendants to this action and seeking damages to reclaim property of the Funds converted by Coverex and Amodeo and to remedy their breaches of fiduciary obligations and commission of prohibited transactions in the sum of sixty-seven thousand seven hundred twenty-nine dollars and fifty-eight cents ($67,729.58), together with interest thereon, liquidated damages and reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. (DE 4).
By electronic order dated August 24, 2009, the Honorable Arlene R. Lindsay, United States Magistrate Judge, inter alia, stayed this case pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) due to RMTI's filing of a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on August 16, 2009. By order dated November 17, 2009, upon the joint application of plaintiffs, Coverex and Amodeo, Magistrate Judge Lindsay lifted the stay with respect to plaintiffs' claims against Iorio. (DE 27).
On October 27, 2010, October 28, 2010 and November 9, 2010, Iorio filed letters, inter alia, requesting that this action be stayed pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362(a) because he had filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on October 20, 2010. (DE 42, 43 and 47, respectively). However, on June 14, 2011, plaintiffs filed a motion to sever their claims against RMTI and Iorio so that they could proceed with their claims against Coverexand Amodeo in this action. (DE 50). Amodeo, by counsel, opposed plaintiffs motion to sever. (DE 51). During a hearing on the motion held on June 24, 2011, the Honorable Thomas C. Platt, Senior United States District Judge, to whom this case was originally assigned, orally granted plaintiffs' motion to sever ("the Minute Order"). (See Minute Order dated 6/24/2011).
On July 6, 2011, plaintiffs filed a proposed order, inter alia, granting their motion to sever, (DE 53), but a written order signed by Judge Platt was never entered on the docket. Although the parties proceeded to litigate plaintiffs' claims against only Amodeo following entry of Judge Platt's Minute Order, the Court's docket never reflected the severance of plaintiffs' claims against RMTI and Iorio, i.e., the docket continued to designate RMTI and Iorio as defendants and to indicate that this case was stayed. Accordingly, on July 9, 2014, following the reassignment of this case to me, I, inter alia, issued a written order ("the Severance Order") severing plaintiffs' claims against RMTI and Iorio and dropping them from this case pursuant to Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and vacating the stay of this action, (DE 74), in order to correct the mistakes on the docket and effectuate Judge Platt's intent in issuing the Minute Order.
On October 28, 2012, plaintiffs moved pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for partial summary judgment on their claims against Amodeo.1 (DE 55-59). By Memorandum and Order dated April 22, 2013 ("the April Order"), Judge Platt granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs on the issue of Amodeo's liability for breach of a fiduciary duty and conversion, finding, inter alia, that Amodeo was the Chief Financial Officer ("CFO") of RMTI, (DE 61 at 3); "was a fiduciary within the scope of ERISA and [] exercised discretion andauthority over the contributions belonging to the [] [F]unds," (id. at 12); and "breached his fiduciary duty with respect to plaintiffs' funds and converted the contributions which rightfully belonged to plaintiffs," (id. at 1). In the April Order, Judge Platt indicated that "[t]he exact sum of damages and whether plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys' fees and costs shall be determined at trial in this matter." (Id. at 13).
On September 18, 2013, Amodeo, by counsel, moved pursuant to Rule 60(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to vacate and set aside the April Order (the "Prior Rule 60 Motion") on the ground that newly discovered evidence demonstrated that he was not a fiduciary under ERISA. (DE 68-70). By letter application dated June 11, 2014, plaintiffs requested that Amodeo's Prior Rule 60 Motion be denied as frivolous and that they be permitted to move for summary judgment on the issue of damages in lieu of the trial. (DE 71). By letter dated June 13, 2014, Amodeo, by counsel, responded to only so much of plaintiffs' June 11, 2014 letter as contended that his Prior Rule 60 Motion was frivolous. (DE 72). Amodeo did not oppose or otherwise address plaintiffs' request for leave to file a summary judgment motion on the issue of damages in lieu of a trial. (Id.)
By order dated June 26, 2014 ("the June Order"), Judge Platt denied Amodeo's Prior Rule 60 Motion on the grounds: (1) that all of the newly discovered documents existed as of the date of the April Order; and (2) that Amodeo failed to demonstrate "that he was excusably ignorant of the facts that existed at the time the [April] Order was issued despite exercising due diligence[.]" (DE 73 at 6).
On July 8, 2014, this case was reassigned to me. By order dated July 9, 2014 ("the July Order"), I (1) granted plaintiffs' unopposed application for leave to serve a motion for summaryjudgment, in lieu of a trial, on the issue of damages; (2) set a briefing schedule for the summary judgment motion2; and (3) ordered plaintiffs to file a status report regarding the status of their claims against Coverex on or before August 11, 2014, or their claims against Coverex would be deemed voluntarily dismissed. Although plaintiffs filed a status report on July 18, 2014, they did not specifically address the status of their claims against Coverex in this action. (DE 75). Accordingly, and since plaintiffs took no steps to prosecute their claims against Coverex in this action for approximately six (6) years, by Order dated May 28, 2015, I, inter alia, dismissed plaintiffs' claims against Coverex in their entirety with prejudice pursuant to Rule 41(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to prosecute and to comply with an order of this Court. (DE 84).
The May 28, 2015 Order also: (1) granted plaintiffs' motion pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for summary judgment on their claims seeking unpaid contributions, interest thereon, liquidated damages, attorney's fees and costs against Amodeo to the extent of awarding plaintiffs (a) unpaid contributions for the period from July 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008 in the total amount of thirty-five thousand one hundred sixty dollars and seventy-one cents ($35,160.71), (b) interest thereon in the total amount of twenty-two thousand nine hundred sixty-six dollars and eighty-nine cents ($22,966.89), (c) liquidated damages for the period from July 1, 2008 through August 31, 2008 in the total amount of seven thousand thirty-two dollars and five cents ($7,032.05), (d) attorney's fees in the total amount of forty-one thousand one hundred thirty dollars ($41,130.00), and (e) costs in the total amount ofone thousand nine hundred twenty dollars and seventy-nine cents ($1920.79), for a total award of one hundred eight thousand two hundred ten dollars and forty-four cents ($108,210.44), and otherwise denied the motion; (2) scheduled a trial on the issue of the amount of unpaid contributions, interest thereon and liquidated damages, if any, for which Amodeo is liable to plaintiffs during the period from September 1, 2008 through October 31, 2008 for June 29, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.; and (3) held that plaintiffs could seek to recover additional (a) attorney's fees for work performed by Mr. Dubin, Ms. Strang, or any other attorney on their behalf in this case, and (b) costs incurred, from the date of that Order to the conclusion of this case in the event they prevailed upon their remaining claims seeking unpaid contributions, interest thereon and liquidated damages against Amodeo for the period from September 1, 2008 through October 31, 2008.3 (DE 84).
By letter dated June 8, 2015, plaintiffs advised the Court that they had decided not to pursue their claims against Amodeo seeking unpaid contributions, interest thereon and liquidated damages for the period from September 1, 2008 through ...
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