Boards of Trustees of the Alaska Pipe Trades U.A. Local 367 Health & Security Trust Fund et al v. Polar Refrig & Restaurant Equip, Inc. et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF ALASKA
BOARDS OF TRUSTEES OF THE )
ALASKA PIPE TRADES U.A. LOCAL )
367 HEALTH & SECURITY TRUST )
FUND, et al., )
)
Plaintiffs, ) 3:18-CV-00050 JWS
)
vs. ) ORDER AND OPINION
)
) [Re: Doc. 15]
POLAR REFRIG & RESTAURANT )
EQUIP, INC., et al., )
)
Defendants. )
)
I. MOTION PRESENTED
At docket 15 Plaintiffs Boards of Trustees of the Alaska Pipe Trades U.A. Local
367 Health & Security Trust Fund, Anchorage Alaska Area Pipe Trades Local Joint
Apprenticeship Training Fund, U.A. Locals No. 375 and 367 Supplemental Pension
Trust Fund, International Training Fund, and Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension
Fund ("Trust Funds") move for summary judgment against Defendant Polar Refrig &
Restaurant Equip, Inc. ("Polar") and ask the court to award them payment of Polar's
outstanding benefit contributions for the hours worked by Polar's employees from
September 2016 through March 2018, as well as liquidated damages, interest, audit
fees, and attorneys' fees. The Trust Funds also seek summary judgment against
Defendant Hartford Fire Insurance Company ("Hartford") to collect proceeds from the
General Contractor's License Bond Hartford issued to Polar. Polar did not respond to
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the motion, but the Trust Funds filed a reply at docket 20. Oral argument was not
requested and would not be of assistance to the court.
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
Summary judgment is appropriate where “there is no genuine dispute as to any
material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”1 The materiality
requirement ensures that “[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the
suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.”2
Ultimately, “summary judgment will not lie if the . . . evidence is such that a reasonable
jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.”3 However, summary judgment is
mandated “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.”4
The moving party has the burden of showing that there is no genuine dispute as
to any material fact.5 Where the nonmoving party will bear the burden of proof at trial on
a dispositive issue, the moving party need not present evidence to show that summary
judgment is warranted; it need only point out the lack of any genuine dispute as to
material fact.6 Once the moving party has met this burden, the nonmoving party must
set forth evidence of specific facts showing the existence of a genuine issue for trial.7
All evidence presented by the non-movant must be believed for purposes of summary
1Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).
2Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986).
3Id.
4Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986).
5Id. at 323.
6Id. at 323-25.
7Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248-49.
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judgment, and all justifiable inferences must be drawn in favor of the non-movant.8
However, the non-moving party may not rest upon mere allegations or denials but must
show that there is sufficient evidence supporting the claimed factual dispute to require a
fact-finder to resolve the parties’ differing versions of the truth at trial.9
III. UNDISPUTED FACTS
The Trust Funds are jointly administered labor-management employee benefit
trust funds, organized and operated pursuant to ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1001, et seq. and
created under Section 302(c) of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 185 and 186(c). The Trust
Funds provide employee benefits to covered employees of employers who are
signatories to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). In March of 2016, Polar
executed an agreement that bound it to the National Service and Maintenance
Agreement (NSMA), which is a CBA between the United Association of Journeymen
and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and
Canada, AFL-CIO and the Mechanical Service Contractors of America. The NSMA
requires Polar to contribute to the Trust Funds—the local ones and the International
Training Fund. It incorporates the terms and conditions of the local CBAs for
determining specific contribution requirements. Polar was also party to an agreement
with the Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund (National Pension Fund
Agreement) which required it to contribute to that particular Trust Fund. By signing the
National Pension Fund Agreement and the NSMA, Polar agreed to the terms of the
written trust agreements. The individual trust agreements provide for the payment of
liquidated damages and interest in the event of delinquent contributions and set how
those fees would be calculated.
8Id. at 255.
9Id. at 248-49.
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Following the execution of the various agreements, Polar hired employees who
performed work subject to the agreements' scope of work provisions. It also obtained a
$25,000 bond from Hartford to insure against a breach of contract.
An audit conducted in 2018 revealed that Polar was delinquent in its contributions
to the local Trust Funds from September 2016 through March 2018 in the amount of
$12,356.81. The audit also calculated interest on the delinquent payments to be
$1,176.11 and liquidated damages stemming from the delinquency to be $3,109.82.
Fees for the audit, which Polar was obligated to pay under the agreements, amounted
to $3,612.50. It was also determined by a trust administrator that Polar owed
contributions in the amount of $10,659.11 to the Plumbers & Pipefitters National
Pension Fund and the International Training Fund for this same period. The
administrator calculated the interest owed to be $3,998.25 and the liquidated damages
to be $1,537.64. The Trust Funds subsequently filed this action to collect benefit
contributions from Polar.
Polar has not controverted the facts set forth by the Trust Funds, nor has it paid
the amounts owed. The facts are supported by the materials submitted in conjunction
with the motion.
IV. DISCUSSION
The facts set forth in the motion and the supporting materials, which have not
been contested, sufficiently demonstrate that the Trust Funds are entitled to summary
judgment. Polar is liable for unpaid contributions to the Trust Funds in the amount of
$23,015.92.
Under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2), the Trust Funds are entitled to fees as well.10
These fees include interest on the unpaid contributions, liquidated damages provided
10See Nw. Adm'rs, Inc. v. Albertson's Inc., 104 F.3d 253, 257 (9th Cir. 1996) (noting that
a benefit plan is entitled to a mandatory fee award under ERISA if the employer is delinquent at
the time the action is filed, the district court enters judgment against the employer, and the plan
provides for an award of fees).
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for under the plan, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, and any other legal or
equitable relief that is appropriate.11
The unpaid contributions amount to $23,015.92. Interest on the missed
payments totals $5,174.36. Liquidated damages amount to $4,647.46. The audit fee is
$3,612.50. Polar is therefore liable for a total of $36,450.24 plus attorneys' fees.
The Trust Funds are also entitled to summary judgment as to their claim for
payment of $25,000 under the General Contractor's Bond issued by Hartford. The
amount of contributions plus interest and fees owed under the various agreements
totals more than $25,000 and therefore the entire amount of the bond's proceeds shall
be paid to the Trust Funds to partially satisfy the amount owed by Polar.
V. CONCLUSION
Based on the preceding discussion, the Trust Funds' motion for summary
judgment at docket 15 is GRANTED. Polar is liable for $36,450.24, plus attorneys’ fees
and costs. The proceeds of Polar's General Contractor's Bond shall be paid to the Trust
Funds in partial satisfaction of Polar's liability.
DATED this 5th day of August 2019.
/s/ JOHN W. SEDWICK
SENIOR JUDGE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
1129 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2).
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