Trustees of Teamsters Union v. Mcallister, Inc.
| Decision Date | 17 March 2009 |
| Docket Number | Cause No. 2:08-CV-88-PRC. |
| Citation | 602 F.Supp.2d 948 |
| Parties | TRUSTEES OF the TEAMSTERS UNION LOCAL NO. 142 PENSION TRUST FUND and Trustees of the Teamsters Union Local No. 142 Training Trust Fund, Plaintiffs, v. McALLISTER, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana |
Teresa A. Massa, Terrell and Thrall LLP, Valparaiso, IN, for Plaintiff.
David E. Woodward, David W. Masse, Casale Woodward & Buls LLP, Merrillville, IN, for Defendant.
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 13], filed by Plaintiffs on December 15, 2008. For the foregoing reasons, the Court hereby GRANTS the Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment [DE 13].
On June 6, 2008, Plaintiffs, the trustees of a multi-employer pension trust fund and training trust fund, filed a Complaint against Defendant McAllister, Inc. ("Defendant"), pursuant to Sections 502(a)(3), (e)(1), and (f) of the Employment Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1132(a)(3), (e)(1), and (f), and Section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 ("LMRA"), as amended 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), alleging that Defendant failed to pay pension trust fund and training trust fund contributions as required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Restated Trust Agreement, and Employer Contribution Collection Policy. On July 2, 2008, Defendant filed an Answer.
On December 15, 2008, Plaintiffs filed the instant Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant filed its Response brief on February 3, 2009, to which Plaintiffs filed their Reply brief on February 18, 2009.
The parties filed forms of consent to have this case assigned to a United States Magistrate Judge to conduct all further proceedings and to order the entry of a final judgment in this case. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction to decide this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
Defendant entered into a Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") with the Plaintiffs, signed by Defendant on October 12, 2006, but effective June 1, 2006. Article 14 of the CBA requires Defendant to pay contributions to the Plaintiffs' Pension Trust Fund ("Pension Fund") and provides, in relevant part:
The Employer [i.e., Defendant] shall pay the following amounts per hour worked per employee into Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Trust Fund (Fund), an irrevocable trust heretofore created by an Agreement and Declaration of Trust (Trust Agreement) pursuant to a Collective Bargaining Agreement between certain Employers and the Union.
PERIOD EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION
[...]
6/01/07-5/31/08 ($5.00)
6/01/08-5/31/09 ($5.25)
[...]
Pls.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. A, at 15-16(CBA). Further, Article 9 of the CBA requires Defendant to pay contributions to Plaintiffs' Training and Apprenticeship Fund ("Training Trust Fund") and provides, in relevant part:
Section 2. On work covered by this Agreement, the Employer [i.e., Defendant] agrees to pay into the Teamsters Local No. 142 Training and Apprenticeship Fund the following amounts per hour. Payment shall be made on the dates, in the manner, form and in accordance with the rules and regulations as adopted by the Trustees of the herein mentioned Training and Apprenticeship Fund.
PERIOD EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION
[...]
6/01/07-5/31/08 ($0.65)
6/01/08-5/31/09 ($0.75)
[...]
After entering into the CBA, from September 1, 2007, through December 31, 2007, Defendant failed to pay the required contributions into the Pension Fund or the Training Trust Fund. Consequently, Plaintiffs hired Legacy Professionals, LLP to perform a payroll audit of Defendant. The auditor found that Defendant owed $7,920.00 to the Pension Fund and $1,029.61 to the Training Trust Fund, up to the date of the audit. After receiving a copy of the audit report, Defendant failed to pay the delinquent amounts. Further, Defendant failed to report hours worked or pay contributions after the payroll audit period.
As a signatory to the CBA, Defendant is bound by the Restated Agreement and Declaration of Trust ("Trust Agreement"). The Trust Agreement provides that if an employer is found to be delinquent in contributions, the Trustees are at liberty to take necessary steps to collect the funds and the employer shall pay the costs of an audit, interest on all money due, and all expenses of collection incurred by the Trustees, including costs and legal fees. In addition, the Trust Agreement and Employer Contribution Collection Policy ("Collection Policy") require Defendant to pay 10% per annum interest on any unpaid contributions pursuant to ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(C)(i), to pay liquidated damages in the sum of twenty percent (20%) of the total amount due, as well as legal fees and costs, pursuant to ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D).
After the instant suit was filed, on June 13, 2008, Defendant made a payment of $23,089.12 toward contributions through April 1, 2008.
On July 3, 2008, Plaintiffs' counsel sent a letter to Defendant's counsel providing that Def.'s Resp. Br., Ex. 1. The letter further provided that Defendant should forward the payment, made payable to Teamsters Union Local No. 142 Pension Trust Fund, within seven days, and that "[u]pon receipt of notification that the check has cleared our bank, we will dismiss the pending lawsuit." Id. On July 8, 2008, Defendant's counsel sent a letter to Plaintiffs' counsel stating that "[m]y client is in agreement with the settlement of the above matter," and indicating that Defendant's counsel would have the Defendant's check by July 11, 2008. Id. at Ex. 3. The letter also requested that Plaintiffs' counsel notify Defendant's counsel as to whether the check should be picked up or mailed. On the same day, Plaintiffs' counsel responded via fax stating that the check should be sent by mail when received.
On July 11, 2008, Defendant's counsel sent the settlement check to counsel for Plaintiff, along with a letter providing that "[t]he check is conveyed to you at this time on the condition that the settlement check is neither negotiated nor conveyed to your client until such time the dismissal papers have been filed with the Court." Id. at Ex. 5. On July 15, 2008, Plaintiffs' counsel sent an e-mail to counsel for Defendant, providing that she received the settlement check and letter. Further, the e-mail provided that Pls.' Reply Br., Ex. 2. The e-mail further provided that because Defendant was in arrears for the May 2008 contributions, Defendant had to continue to pay current contributions before the matter could be resolved.
On August 6, 2008, Plaintiffs' counsel sent a letter to counsel for Defendant indicating that no response had been received from Defendant regarding Plaintiffs' previous messages. The letter further provided that Defendant must agree to pay all contributions as required by the CBA and that payment for the July contributions must be received by August 31, 2008. Additionally, the letter provided that Defendant must provide reports of hours worked and payment in full of June 2008 contributions to the Pension Fund and Training Trust Fund, as well as accrued interest. Further, the letter required that Defendant confirm that the settlement check would be honored, pay additional attorney fees, and indicated that if Defendant did not comply by August 12, 2008, then Plaintiffs would "reinstate its claim to liquidated damages in the amount of 20% of all delinquent contributions which were paid in 2008, including June 2008 contributions which are delinquent as of this date." Id. at Ex. 4. Defendant failed to reply.
On December 12, 2008, Plaintiffs' counsel sent a letter to Defendant's counsel, returning the uncashed settlement check sent on July 11, 2008, because Defendant failed to keep contributions current.
Plaintiffs then filed a Motion for Summary Judgment on December 15, 2008, alleging that after making its June 13, 2008 payment, Defendant made sporadic contributions and was then in arrears for October 2008 contributions. Defendant filed its response brief on February 3, 2009, claiming that a settlement was reached in this case on July 8, 2008, and that, without filing an amended complaint, Plaintiffs were not entitled to seek damages for the then-unpaid October 2008 contributions. On February 18, 2008, Plaintiffs filed a reply brief, indicating that the October 2008 contributions were paid, but that, as of the date the reply brief was filed, contributions for November and December 2008 were unpaid. Accordingly, Plaintiffs submitted a revised claim for damages, including these unpaid contributions.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure mandate that motions for summary judgment be granted "if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Rule 56(c) further requires the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery, against a party "who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d...
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