United Food & Commercial Workers Local 545 Health & Welfare Fund v. Health Enterprises of America, Inc.

543 F. Supp. 340, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13654
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedJuly 12, 1982
DocketNos. 81-0030-C(C), 81-1162-C(C)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 543 F. Supp. 340 (United Food & Commercial Workers Local 545 Health & Welfare Fund v. Health Enterprises of America, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United Food & Commercial Workers Local 545 Health & Welfare Fund v. Health Enterprises of America, Inc., 543 F. Supp. 340, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13654 (E.D. Mo. 1982).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

MEREDITH, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court for a determination as to whether Health Enterprises of America, Inc., d/b/a Carlson Tower Geriatric Center, and/or Geriatric Center of St. Louis, Inc. should be held in contempt of this Court’s judgment dated June 18, 1981 in Cause No. 81-0030-C(C); and for a judgment on the merits on the third party complaint in Cause No. 81-0030-C(C); and for a judgment on the merits in Cause No. 81-1162-C(C). The matter was tried before this Court, without a jury, on May 10 and 11, 1982. After full consideration of the pleadings, testimony and exhibits introduced at trial, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff United Food and Commercial Workers, AFL-CIO-CLC, Local 545 (hereinafter, “Local 545”) is and was at all relevant times a “labor organization” within the meaning of § 2(5) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 152(5) and represents employee members in the Eastern District of Missouri in an industry affecting commerce.

2. Plaintiff Health and Welfare Fund of Local 545 (hereinafter, “Health and Welfare Fund”) is and was at all relevant times an employee benefit trust fund created by a trust agreement and was established pursuant to § 302 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 186. It exists for the purpose of providing group health insurance benefits to employees. The Health and Welfare Fund is an “employee benefit plan” within the meaning of § 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1002(3).

3. Plaintiffs James A. Pettigrew, Shirley Williams, Carl Thompson, and Harold Schneider are and were at all relevant times the trustees of the Health and Wei-[342]*342fare Fund and the “fiduciaries” of the fund within the meaning of § 402 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1102. James A. Pettigrew is also the president of Local 545.

4. Defendant and third party plaintiff Health Enterprises of America, Inc. (hereinafter, “HEA”) is an Ohio corporation with its principal place of business in Warren, Ohio. Defendant Geriatric Center of St. Louis, Inc. (hereinafter, “Geriatric Center”) is a Missouri corporation with its principal place of business in the State of Missouri. HEA and Geriatric Center are and were at all relevant times “employers” within the meaning of § 2(2) of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 152(2), and § 3(5) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. § 1002(5) in an industry affecting commerce.

5. Defendants Rudy Nail and Mary Nail are and have been since June on 1981 the sole corporate officers and directors of Geriatric Center. Rudy Nail and Mary Nail have since June of 1981 owned ninety-four percent of the capital stock of Geriatric Center. The remaining six percent is owned by Janet Parrett.

6. Peter C. Kern has been at all relevant times herein the president and sole shareholder of HEA. Neither Rudy Nail nor Mary Nail has ever held stock in or been an officer or director of HEA.

7. HEA operates a number of nursing homes in the States of Ohio and Missouri. From May 9, 1978 until June 1, 1981 it operated a nursing facility located at 4560 West Pine Blvd. in St. Louis, Missouri. HEA leased and continues to lease the building and real property at the 4560 West Pine facility from a Missouri corporation called Carlson Tower Geriatric Center, Inc. The corporate officers and directors of Carlson Tower are and were at all relevant times Peter C. Kern and his parents, Peter E. Kern and Dorothy Kern.

8. During all times material herein, the 4560 West Pine facility has had approximately 175 employees and has provided nursing home services primarily to patients who are on Medicare and Medicaid, which is funded through the State of Missouri, Division of Aging.

9. Local 545 signed a collective bargaining agreement with HEA covering certain employees at the 4560 West Pine facility. The effective dates of that agreement are August 9, 1979 through December 31, 1982. The agreement provides that HEA is to deduct union dues and initiation fees from employee wages and that HEA is to contribute to the Health and Welfare Fund of Local 545 in order to provide health insurance benefits to its employees. HEA is obligated under the agreement to file monthly reports to the Health and Welfare Fund from which eligibility for insurance benefits is determined. In addition, the agreement provides:

If any owner or Employer sells, leases, or transfers his business or any part thereof, the Successor, Leasee (sic), or Transferee shall be bound fully by the terms of this Agreement, and shall be obliged to pay the wages and salaries in effect at the time of the sale, lease, or transfer, and shall assume all obligations of this Agreement in the place and stead of the Employer signatory hereto, and that the Union, as sole collective bargaining agent, shall be present at any discussion or the transaction of a sale or transfer of property.

10. On January 9, 1981 Local 545 and the Health and Welfare Fund filed Cause No. 81-0030-C(C) against HEA alleging that HEA had failed to pay contributions and submit monthly reports to the Health and Welfare Fund and that it had not paid dues and initiation fees to Local 545 as required by the collective bargaining agreement.

11. On January 27, 1981 Local 545 filed an unfair labor practice charge against HEA with the National Labor Relations Board (hereinafter, “NLRB”) alleging, inter alia, that HEA had failed to pay health and welfare contributions, to file reports, to pay union dues and initiation fees, and to abide by three outstanding arbitration awards.

[343]*34312. On February 13, 1981 Rudy Nail, as president of Management Behavior Analyst, Inc. (hereinafter, “MBA”) executed a consulting agreement with HEA by which MBA agreed to provide consultation and advice to Carolyn Ellerbuseh, administrator of the HEA facility at 4560 West Pine, in developing an effective management team and program at that facility. Nail was to spend two days per week at the facility. The original term of the consulting agreement was ninety days and commenced February 16, 1981.

13. On March 2, 1981 the Regional Director for Region 14 of the NLRB issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing against HEA for the conduct alleged in the unfair labor practice charge discussed in Finding 11, supra, and set the matter for trial on March 23, 1981. The trial was not held. On or about March 24, 1981 HEA entered into a settlement stipulation admitting the allegations in the unfair labor practice charge. The stipulation provided that the settlement agreement would be incorporated into an order of the NLRB in Washington, D. C. and would later be filed as a consent order with the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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Bluebook (online)
543 F. Supp. 340, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-food-commercial-workers-local-545-health-welfare-fund-v-health-moed-1982.