District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America v. Prime Contractors, Inc.

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 6, 2023
Docket1:22-cv-07085
StatusUnknown

This text of District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America v. Prime Contractors, Inc. (District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America v. Prime Contractors, 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
District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America v. Prime Contractors, Inc., (S.D.N.Y. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DISTRICT COUNCIL OF NEW YORK CITY AND VICINITY OF THE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS OF AMERICA, 22 Civ. 7085 (KPF) Petitioner, OPINION AND ORDER -v.- PRIME CONTRACTORS, INC., Respondent. KATHERINE POLK FAILLA, District Judge: The District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (“Petitioner”) filed this motion for summary judgment to confirm an arbitral award (the “Award”) in Petitioner’s favor, awarding Petitioner contractual damages. The Court has jurisdiction to confirm the Award pursuant to Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (the “LMRA”), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 185. The motion is unopposed, inasmuch as Prime Contractors, Inc. (“Respondent”) has neither acknowledged the petition nor made any effort to contest confirmation of the Award. For the reasons set forth in the remainder of this Opinion, the Court grants Petitioner’s motion. BACKGROUND1 A. Factual Background Respondent became bound to the Renovation & Rehabilitation of NYCHA Buildings/Structures Project Labor Agreement (the “PLA”) following its execution of the Letter of Assent for a project located at MTA Avenue X in

Brooklyn, New York (the “Project”). (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 1; Sigelakis Decl. ¶ 5; Letter of Assent). Disputes arose between the parties regarding Respondent’s compliance with its obligations under the PLA when Respondent did not hire labor represented by Petitioner or employ a shop steward to dismantle scaffolding at the Project. (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 3; Sigelakis Decl. ¶ 7). The PLA provides that disputes between the parties are to be resolved by arbitration. (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 2; Sigelakis Decl. ¶ 6). The PLA designates Richard Adelman as arbitrator (the

“Arbitrator”). (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 2; Sigelakis Decl. ¶ 6). On April 2, 2022, Petitioner

1 The facts set forth in this Opinion are taken from Petitioners’ Local Civil Rule 56.1 Statement of Material Facts (Dkt. #10 (“Pet. 56.1”)), and from exhibits to the Declaration of Lydia Sigelakis (Dkt. #9 (“Sigelakis Decl., Ex. [ ]”)), including the May 6, 2022 arbitral award (id., Ex. C (the “Award”)),; the Project Labor Agreement Letter of Assent (id., Ex. A (the “Letter of Assent”)); the Notice of Arbitration Hearing and Grievance Form (id., Ex. B (the “Notice”)); the Spivak Lipton Attorney Hours Report and Recap of Work Done (id., Ex. E (the “Spivak Hours Report”)); and the Spivak Lipton records relating to filing fees and costs (id., Ex. F (the “Filing and Service Costs Records”)). Citations to Petitioner’s Rule 56.1 Statement incorporate by reference the documents cited therein. Where facts stated in the Rule 56.1 Statement are supported by admissible evidence and are not contested by Respondent, the Court accepts such facts as true. See Local Civil Rule 56.1(c)-(d). For ease of reference, the Court refers to Petitioner’s memorandum of law in support of its motion for summary judgment and application for attorneys’ fees and costs as “Pet. Br.” (Dkt. #11). sent notice of an arbitration hearing scheduled for May 4, 2022, to Respondent via first-class mail. (Notice). The Arbitrator conducted the hearing on May 4, 2022, and the

Respondent did not appear. (Pet. 56.1 ¶¶ 4-5; see also Award). Petitioner introduced evidence and testimony supporting its claims, and the Arbitrator ruled in Petitioner’s favor on May 6, 2022. (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 5; see generally Award). Specifically, the Arbitrator found that Respondent violated the PLA by failing to employ workers represented by Petitioner and to employ a shop steward in connection with dismantling scaffolding at the Project. (Pet 56.1 ¶ 6; Award 3). As a remedy, the Arbitrator ordered the Respondent to pay $31,337.60. (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 7, Award 3). This figure consists of $16,420.00 for 320 hours of wages

(the equivalent of five eight-hour days for eight employees) at a rate of $51.50 per hour and $14,857.60 for 320 hours of benefits for these same employees at a rate of $46.43 per hour. (Pet. 56.1 ¶ 7, Award 3). B. Procedural Background Petitioners filed the instant petition to confirm the Award on August 19, 2022. (Dkt. #1). On August 29, 2022, the Court ordered Petitioner to move for confirmation of the Award in the form of a motion for summary judgment on or before September 12, 2022. (Dkt. #5). Petitioner served Respondent with the petition on August 30, 2022. (Dkt. #6). In its August 29, 2022 Order, the

Court directed Respondent to file any opposition brief by September 26, 2022, and Petitioner to file any reply by October 3, 2022. (Dkt. #7). In line with this Order, Petitioner filed its summary judgment motion and supporting papers on September 12, 2022, requesting that the Court: (i) confirm the Award; (ii) award Petitioner attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing this litigation; and (iii) award pre-judgment interest. (Dkt. #8-11). Petitioner served

Respondent with the Motion for Summary Judgment and supporting papers on September 12, 2022. (Dkt. #12). Respondent has neither filed opposition papers nor appeared in this case. DISCUSSION A. The Court Confirms the Award 1. Review of Arbitration Awards “Section 301 of the [LMRA] … provides federal courts with jurisdiction over petitions brought to confirm labor arbitration awards.” Local 802, Assoc. Musicians of Greater N.Y. v. Parker Meridien Hotel, 145 F.3d 85, 88 (2d Cir. 1998). Federal court review of arbitral awards is “severely limited so as not to

frustrate the twin goals of arbitration, namely, settling disputes efficiently and avoiding long and expensive litigation.” United Bhd. of Carpenters & Joiners of Am. v. Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC, 804 F.3d 270, 274-75 (2d Cir. 2015) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). “The federal policy in favor of enforcing arbitration awards is particularly strong with respect to arbitration of labor disputes.” N.Y. Hotel & Motel Trades Council v. Hotel St. George, 988 F. Supp. 770, 774 (S.D.N.Y. 1997). Because the LMRA “embodies a ‘clear preference for the private resolution of labor disputes,’” Nat’l Football

League Mgmt. Council v. Nat’l Football League Players Ass’n, 820 F.3d 527, 536 (2d Cir. 2016) (quoting Int’l Bhd. of Elec. Workers v. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., 143 F.3d 704, 714 (2d Cir. 1998)), judicial review of arbitral awards in this context is “among the most deferential in the law,” id. at 532. Confirmation of an arbitration award is thus generally “a summary

proceeding that merely makes what is already a final arbitration award a judgment of the court[.]” D.H. Blair & Co., Inc. v. Gottdiener, 462 F.3d 95, 110 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). The Court’s task is not to reconsider the merits of the dispute; after all, the parties bargained for the arbitrator’s view of the facts and the law. Nat’l Football League Mgmt. Council, 820 F.3d at 536. Instead, the Court’s role is “simply to ensure that the arbitrator was ‘even arguably construing or applying the contract and acting within the scope of his authority’ and did not ‘ignore the

plain language of the contract.’” Id. at 537 (quoting United Paperworkers Int’l Union, AFL-CIO v. Misco, Inc., 484 U.S. 29

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District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America v. Prime Contractors, Inc., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/district-council-of-new-york-city-and-vicinity-of-the-united-brotherhood-of-nysd-2023.