Annuity and Welfare Funds of the Northeast District Council of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, et al. v. Graci Paving Associates, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedApril 28, 2026
Docket1:25-cv-10278
StatusUnknown

This text of Annuity and Welfare Funds of the Northeast District Council of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, et al. v. Graci Paving Associates, Inc. (Annuity and Welfare Funds of the Northeast District Council of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, et al. v. Graci Paving Associates, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Annuity and Welfare Funds of the Northeast District Council of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, et al. v. Graci Paving Associates, Inc., (S.D.N.Y. 2026).

Opinion

USDC SDNY DOCUMENT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ELECTRONICALLY FILED SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DOC #: Sonnac nnn KK DATE FILED:_04/28/2026 ANNUITY AND WELFARE FUNDS OF THE : NORTHEAST DISTRICT COUNCIL OF THE : OPERATIVE PLASTERERS’ AND CEMENT : MASONS’ INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION, et al., 25-cv-10278 (LJL) Plaintiffs, : OPINION AND ORDER -v- : GRACI PAVING ASSOCIATES, INC., : Defendant. :

we ee KX LEWIS J. LIMAN, United States District Judge: Plaintiffs move, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a), for a default judgment in the amount of $38,978.17 plus additional prejudgment interest. Dkt. No. 12. For the following reasons, the motion for default judgment is granted. BACKGROUND The Court assumes the truth of the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint. Local 780 of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO (“Local 780”) is a labor organization as defined in Section 2 of the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 152. Dkt. No. 1 § 13. Graci Paving Associates, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Graci Paving”) is a New York corporation, with its principal place of business in Massapequa, New York, and is an employer within the meaning of Section 3(5) of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1002(5), and Section 301 of the LMRA, 29 U.S.C. § 185. Id. 9§ 15, 18. It employs individuals who are represented by Local 780. Dkt. No. 14 4 5; Dkt. No. 15 4 2. Graci Paving is bound to a series of collective bargaining agreements that Local 780 has

negotiated with The Cement League, an employers’ association, which establish the terms and conditions for the employment of cement masons in the construction paving industry (the “Collective Bargaining Agreement,” or “CBA”). Dkt. No. 14 ¶ 5. Under that agreement, Graci Paving is obligated to remit, at specified rates, annuity, pension, welfare, training and labor management cooperation trust fund contributions along with dues checkoff, organizational fund,

education and political action committee allocations. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 20. The remittances are based upon each straight, overtime and double time hour of work performed by those employees covered by the CBA. Id. The CBA states: Payments covering contributions to the NEDC OPCIMA Welfare Fund plus Vacation Benefit, Annuity Fund, Apprenticeship Fund, the Cement Masons’ Local 780 Pension Fund, the Cement League Advancement and Promotion Fund (“CLAPF”), the Cement League, the Local 780 Labor-Management Trust Cooperation, and NEDC OPCMIA Organizing Fund, the NEDC OPCMIA Education Fund and the Union Dues Check Off shall be made weekly. Contributions required to be made to Funds governed by ERISA become Fund assets and Fund property of each respective Fund immediately upon the date on which the contributions are due if so provided for by the respective Fund Trust agreements.

Dkt. No. 14-3 at 13. Cement Masons’ Local 780 Pension Fund (“Local 780 Pension Fund”) and the Annuity, Welfare, Apprenticeship and Labor Management Cooperation Funds of the Northeast District Council of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association (“NEDC Trust Funds”) are joint trustee funds established by various trust indentures pursuant to Section 302 of the LMRA. Dkt. No. 1 ¶ 4. In accordance with the CBA and the Trust Agreements establishing the Local 780 Pension Fund and the NEDC Trust Funds, Graci Paving consented to the performance of an audit of its books and records to determine whether it had made all of the required contribution payments to Plaintiffs for the period of January 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025. Id. ¶ 22. The audit determined that Graci Paving failed to provide contractually required annuity, pension, welfare, training, and labor management cooperation trust fund contributions along with dues checkoff, organizational fund, education, and political action committee allocations together with interest for the period of January 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025 in the amount of $27,475.58. Id. ¶ 23. Dkt. No. 14-8.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY Plaintiffs initiated this action by complaint filed on December 11, 2025. Dkt. No. 1. They bring causes of action for breach of the CBA and a violation of Section 514 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1145. Id. ¶¶ 21–30. Plaintiffs allege that Graci Paving owes annuity, pension, welfare, training, and labor management cooperation trust fund contributions along with dues checkoff, organizational fund, education, and political action committee allocations and had breached the terms and conditions of the CBA by which it was bound. On February 6, 2026, Plaintiffs filed an affidavit of service reflecting that service was made on January 14, 2026 on Defendant through the New York Secretary of State. Dkt. No. 6. Plaintiffs requested a certificate of default from the Clerk of Court and served the request on

Defendant at its business address. Dkt. Nos. 7–9. On February 10, 2026, the Clerk of Court issued a certificate of default. On February 20, 2026, Plaintiffs filed this motion for a default judgment supported by a statement of damages, the declaration of counsel, three affidavits, and a memorandum of law. Dkt. Nos. 12–18. Plaintiffs served the motion on Defendant. Dkt. No. 19. Defendant did not respond. The Court held a hearing on the motion for a default judgment on April 17, 2026. Plaintiffs attended. Defendant did not. LEGAL STANDARD Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55 sets forth a two-step procedure to be followed for the entry of judgment against a party who fails to defend: the entry of a default and the entry of a default judgment. See New York v. Green, 420 F.3d 99, 104 (2d Cir. 2005). The first step, entry of a default, simply “formalizes a judicial recognition that a defendant has, through its failure to defend the action, admitted liability to the plaintiff.” City of New York v. Mickalis Pawn Shop, 645 F.3d 114, 128 (2d Cir. 2011); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(a). The second step, entry of a default judgment, “converts the defendant’s admission of liability

into a final judgment that terminates the litigation and awards the plaintiff any relief to which the court decides it is entitled, to the extent permitted” by the pleadings. Mickalis Pawn Shop, 645 F.3d at 128; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 55(b). Whether entry of default judgment at the second step is appropriate depends upon whether the well-pleaded allegations against the defaulting party establish liability as a matter of law. See Mickalis Pawn Shop, 645 F.3d at 137. While a defendant who defaults admits the well-pleaded factual allegations in a complaint, because a party in default does not admit conclusions of law, “a district court need not agree that the alleged facts constitute a valid cause of action.” Id. (citation omitted). “The essence of Fed. R. Civ. P. 55

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Annuity and Welfare Funds of the Northeast District Council of the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, et al. v. Graci Paving Associates, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/annuity-and-welfare-funds-of-the-northeast-district-council-of-the-nysd-2026.