MI CHAEL R. FANN I

NG, as Chief Ex ecutive O ffice r of the Ce ntral Pension Fund of the International Union of Oper ating En g ine e rs and

Part ic ipatin gEm

plo y e rs , Plaintiff,

v. PERMA NENT SOL

UT I ONI ND UST RI ES, I NC., De fe nd ant. UNITED STAT ES DIS TRICT COURT F OR THE D ISTRIC T OF CO LU M BIA

Civil Action No. 08-1124 ( CKK)

M EM OR

AN DU M OP IN ION (April 20, 2009) Plaintiff Michael R. Fa

nning, in his off

icial ca pacity as Chief Executive Of

fice r of the Central Pension Fund of

the International Union of Oper atingEng ineer s and Participating Em plo y e rs (h e re ina ft e r, “ Pla int if f” or the “ F un d” ), fi le d a

Com pla int in t his c a se a g a ins t Def endant Per

manent Solution I ndustries, Inc. (he reina fter, “ PSI ”), on June 30, 2008, alleg ing that PSI failed to pa

y to the Fund the pr oper a

mount of contributions owed under the re levant Collective Ba

rg ainingAg ree ments. See Com pl. , D oc ke t N o. [1]. A lth ou g h p ro pe rl y and tim e ly
serve d with the Complaint and Sum mons, PS Ifailed to re spond to the Complaint, and the Clerk of the Court, upon motion by the Fund, e ntere d defa

ult ag ainst PS I

on October

28, 2008. See Clerk’s Entry

of De fault, Doc ket No. [8] . Presently befor e the Court is the F und’s [8] Motion for Def ault J udg ment. Havingthoroug hly considere d the Fund’ s submissi ons, including the Fund’ s supplemental brief

ing a s reque sted by

the Court, the attac hments thereto, a pplicable c ase la

w, statutory authority , and the r ecor d of the c ase a s a whole, the Court shall GRANT the F und’s [8]2

Motion for Def

ault J udg ment, for the r easons state d below.

I. BACKG ROUND The F und filed the Complaint in the above- captioned matter on June 30, 2008. See Compl. As set forth in the Complaint, t he F und asser ts that PS Iis bound through its collec tive barg ainingag ree ments with the I nternational Union of Oper atingEng ineer s L ocal No. 99 a nd other re lated agree ments to pay the Fund c erta in sums of money for e ach hour

worke d by employ ees of

PSI perf orming work c overe d by

the re levant agree ments. Id. ¶¶ 6- 10 . Purs ua

nt t o the terms of those a g ree ments, the Fund a sserts that it is entitl ed to a moneta ry awa rd in the amount of the unpa id contributions, liqui dated damag es, intere st on the unpaid contributions, as well as c osts, audit ex penses a nd attorney s’ fe es. Id. ¶¶ 11- 13. As explained in the decla ration of Micha el R. Fa

nning, Chief

Ex ecutive O ffice r of the F un d, the F un d is a

de fi ne d b e ne fi t, m

ult ie mpl oye r, e mpl oye e pe ns ion be ne fi t pl an. Pl. ’s Mo t. for De f. J., Docket No. [8] , Att. 3 (Dec laration of Michael R. F anning ) (he reina fter “ Fa nning De c l.” ), ¶ 5 . T he F un d p ro vid e s r e tir e me nt, dis a bil ity and surv ivo r a

nd de ath b e ne fi ts t o employ ees ( and their be nefic iaries) workingas oper atingeng ineer s in various industries throug hout the United States. Id. ¶ 6. Contributions are made to the F und by employ ers pur suant to the terms of va

rious collective ba

rg ainingag ree ments entere d into with L ocal Unions of the International Union of Oper atingEng ineer s. Id. ¶ 7. Signatory employ ers a

re r equire d to make the contributions to the Fund on a self-r eportingbasis eac h month. Id. ¶ 8. PSIis one such signatory employ er oblig ated to make contributions to the Fund under the terms of its collec tive barg ainingag ree ment and the F und’s Restated Agree ment and De clar ation of Trust. Id. ¶¶ 9- 10. The c ollective bar g ainingag ree ments entere d into by PSI provide that for

ever y hourThe F und indicates in its most recent suppleme ntal filing that PS Ihas since ma de 1 intermittent pay

ments to the Fund to re duce the delinquency owed. Pl.’s Supp. Mem., Docke t No. [9] at 3, n. 2. Specific ally , PSI has made pay ments after

the lawsuit was f

iled (betwe en November

21, 2008 and Mar ch 3, 2009) totaling$157,755.25. See id. , Att. 1. Although Sec tion 4.5(b) of the Restated Ag ree ment and De clar ation of Trust author izes 2 liquidated damag es to be a ssessed at the r ate of 20%, the F und reque sts only 15% in the instant Motion for Def

ault J udg ment. SeePl.’s Supp. M em. at 2, n. 1. 3 wo rk e d b y

an e mpl oye e pe rf

or min gwo rk

un de r t he a g re e me nt, PSI

is o bli g ate d to pa

y , in addition to wag es, contributions to the Fund. Id. ¶ 11. Pursuant to a pa y roll audit conducte d by Calibre CPA Group, L L C (here inafter , “Calibre” ), the F und has dete rmined that PSIowes delinquent contributions for the pe riod of F ebrua ry 2005 throug h Dec ember

2006 in the amount of $139,913.61, and f

or the pe riod of January

2007 throug h September 2008 in the a mount of $140,331.25. Id. ¶ 1 2; see also Pl.’s Mot. for Def. J., Att. 1 (Decla ration of Patric e M. Clarke , 1 Compli ance Depa

rtment Manag er f

or Calibre CPA Group, PL L C ) (her einaf ter “ Clarke De cl.”) , ¶¶ 5, 8. In addition to unpaid contributions, pursuant to Sections 4.5(b) and ( c) of the Restated Ag ree ment and De clar ation of Trust, PSIowes liquidated damag es at the r ate of 15% and 2 int e re st o n th e un

pa id c on tr ibutio ns at th e rate of 9% pe r a nnum f ro m th e date du e un til date pa id
re sp e c tiv e ly . F ann ingDe c l. ¶ 13 ; see also Ex . A to Fa

nning D ecl. ( Restated Agree ment and Dec laration of Trust) at §§ 4.5(b) -(c ). Calibre ha s calc ulated that liquidated dama g es for the periods of F ebrua

ry 2005 throug h Dec ember

2006 and January

2007 throug h September 2008 total $20,987.04 and $21,049.69 re spectively . Clarke De cl. ¶¶ 6, 9. Ca libre has a lso calculated that interest at the r ate of

9% per annum from the date due until October 24, 2008 (the date of the Clarke De clar ation), totals $33,129.02 and $15,773.59 for those respe ctive time per iods. Id. ¶¶4

7, 10. F ina lly , und e r S e c tio n 4 .5 (e ) o f t he Re state d A g re e me nt a

nd De c laratio n o f T ru st, PSI is obligated to pay

to the Fund a ll costs, audit ex penses, a nd attorney s’ fe es incurr ed by the Trustee s in e nf or c ingthe pa

rt ie s’ a g re e me nts . F ann ingDe c l. ¶ 14 ; see also Ex. Ato F ann ingDe c l. (R e state d A g re e me nt a

nd De c laratio n o f T ru st) at § 4 .5 (e ). As se t f or th i n th e De c lara

tio n o f R
. Richard Hopp, c ounsel of re cord f or the F und, the Fund inc urre d leg al costs in the amount of $4 45 .0 0 a nd atto rn e y s’ fe e s in

the amou nt o f $ 1, 44 0. 00 in e nf

or c ingthe te rm s o f t

he pa rt ie s’ ag ree ment. Pl.’s Mot. for Def. J., Att. 4 (Decla ration of R. Richar d Hopp) (he reina fter “ Hopp Dec l.”), ¶¶

4-5. In addition, the Fund incur red a udit costs totaling $6,554.94. Clarke D ecl., ¶ 11. PSI was ser

ved with the Complaint and Summons on August 6, 2008, and wa s theref ore require d to respond by

August 26, 2008. See Re tur n o f S e rv ic e /A ff

ida vit , D oc ke t N o. [2]. PSI fa ile d to fi le an a

ns we r o r o the rw ise re sp on d to the F un d’ s Co mpl a int , a nd the F un d s ub se qu e ntl y moved for e ntry

of def ault. See Pl.’s Mot. for Entry of De fault, Doc ket No. [7] . On Octobe r 28, 2008, the Clerk of the Court entere d defa ult ag ainst PS I
. See Clerk’s Entry of De fault, Doc ket No. [7] . The F und subsequently filed the instant Motion for De fault Judgment. See Pl. ’s Mo t. for De fault J. Thereaf

ter, a s reque sted by

the Court in a Minute Orde r date d April 15, 2009, the Fund f iled a Supplemental Memora ndum in Support of its Motion for Def ault J udg ment. See Pl.’s Supp. M em., Docke t No. [9] . As of the date of this Orde r, PSIhas not enter ed an appea ranc e nor f

iled any pleading s in this case.

II. LEGAL STANDARD Fe dera l Rule of Civil Procedur e 55(a ) provides that the cler k of the c ourt must enter a party ’s def

ault “[w]hen a party

ag ainst whom a judg ment for a ffirmative relief is sought has5

failed to plea d or otherw ise defe nd, and that fa ilure is shown by aff idavit or otherwise .” F ED . R. C IV . P. 55(a) . After

a def ault has bee n enter ed by

the cler k of the c ourt, a c ourt may enter a defa ult judgment pursua

nt to Rul e 55(b) . F ED . R. C IV . P. 55(b). “ The de termination of whe ther defa ult judgment is appropr iate is committed to the discretion of the tr ial court.” In t’ l P ain te rs
an d A lli e d Trad

es I nd us . P e ns ion Fu nd

v . A ux ie r D ry wal l, L

LC, 53 1 F . Su

pp . 2 d 5 6, 57 (D .D .C. 2 0 0 8 ) ( ci t i n g Jack

son v. Bee ch , 636 F.2d 831, 836 ( D.C. Cir. 1980)). Upon e ntry of def ault by the cler k of the c ourt, the “de faultingdefe ndant is deeme d to admit every well-plea ded alleg ation in the complaint.” In t’ l P ain te rs a nd Al lie d Trad

es I nd us . P e ns ion Fu nd

v . R .W . A rm ineDr

y wal l Co., Inc. , 239 F. Supp. 2d 26, 30 (D.D .C. 2002) (interna l citation omitt ed). “ Although the defa ult establishes a def

endant’ s liabilit y , the cour t is required to make an indepe ndent deter mination of the sum to be awa rded unle ss the amount of dama g es is cer tain.” Id. (citing Adins v. Teseo , 1 80 F . Su pp . 2 d 1 5, 17 (D .D .C. 20 01 )) . A c c or din g ly , whe n mo vin gfo r a de fa ult judgme nt, the plaintiff must prove its entitlement to the amount of monetar y damag es re quested. Id. “In ruling on such a motion, the cour t may rely on detailed a ffidavits or doc umentary evidenc e to deter

mine the appr opriate sum for the def ault judgme nt.” Id. III . D ISC USS ION Where, a s here , there is a complete “ absenc e of a ny reque st to set aside the def ault or sug g estion by

the def endant that it has a

meritorious defe nse, it is clear that the standar d for defa ult judgment has be en satisfied.” Au x ie r D ry wal l, L

LC, 531 F. Supp. 2d at 57 (inter nal quotation marks omitted). The Clerk of the Court enter ed PSI ’s def ault, and the f

actua l alleg ations in the Complaint are there fore taken a s true. See R.W . Armine Dry wall Co., Inc. , 239 F. Supp. 2d at 30. The Court finds that the Fund’ s Complaint s ufficie ntly alleg es fa cts to support6

its c la ims . A c c or din g ly , th e F un d is e nti tle d to de fa ult jud g me nt a s to PSI ’s lia

bil ity fo r i ts failure to timely

pay contributions to the Fund under the terms of PSI ’s collec tive barg aining
a g re e me nt a

nd re late d a g re e me nts . Although the defa

ult establishes a def

endant’ s liabilit y , the Court makes a n independe nt deter mination of the sum to be awa rded in the judg ment unless the amount of damag es is cer tain. Adkins , 180 F. Supp. 2d at 17. He re, pur suant to the terms of the Re stated Ag ree ment and Dec laration of Trust, PSI is obligate d to pay to the: (a) the total amount of unpaid contributions still outstanding f

or the pe riod of time from F ebrua ry 2005 throug h Dec ember

2006 as we ll as for the pe ri od

of tim e fr om Janu ary

20 07 thr ou g h Se pte mbe r 2 00 8; ( 2) liq uid ate d d ama g e s at th e rate of 15%; (3) unpaid intere st at the rate of 9% pe r annum; and ( 4) leg al costs, attorne y s’ fe es and
a ud it c os ts. Mo t. f

or De fa ult J. ¶¶ 1- 3; see also Ex . A to Fa nning D ecl. ( Restated Agree ment and De c laratio n o f T ru st) at § 4 .5 . In a dd iti on , p ur su ant t o 2 9 U .S. C. § 11 32 (g )( 2) , th e F un d is
e nti tle d to an a

wa rd of : ( A) the un

pa id c on tr ibutio ns ; ( B ) i nte re st o n th e un pa id c on tr ibutio ns ; ( C) liq uid ate d d ama g e s in

an amou nt e qu a l to the g re ate r o f ( i) int e re st o n th e un pa id c on tr ibutio ns , or (ii) 20 pe rce nt (or such hig her pe rce ntag e as ma y be per mitted under F eder al or State law ) of the amount deter

mined by the cour t under subpar ag raph ( A); (D) rea sonable attorney ’s fe es and costs of the a ction, to be paid by the def endant; and ( E) such othe r leg al or e quitable re lief as the court de ems appropr iate. As dis c us se d a

bo ve , th e F un d f

ile d th e de c lara

tio ns of F ann ing , Cl ark e and

Ho pp , in support of its Motion for Defa ult J udg ment. Se e su

pr a pp. 2-4. B ased on the se dec larations, the Court finds that the Fund ha s established dama g es in the amount of:7

! $ 1 3 9 , 9 1 3
. 6 1 i nunp ai d co n tri b u t i o n s fo r t h e t i m e p er i o d o f F eb ru ary

2 0 0 5 th ro u gh De c e mbe r 2 00 6 a s w e ll a s $ 14 0, 33 1. 25 in u np a id c on tr ibutio ns fo r t

he pe ri od of tim e from January

2007 throug h September 2008, minus $157,775.25 in pay ments PS Ihas rec ently made, f or a total of $122,469.61 in u np a id c on tr ibutio ns ; ! $20,987.04 in liquidated damag es at a rate of 15% f

or the time per iod of Fe bruar y 2005 throug h Dec ember

2006 as we ll as $21,049.69 in liqui dated damag es at a rate of 15% for the per iod of time from January 2007 throug h September 2008, f or a total of $42,036.73 in l iqu idate d d ama g e s; ! $33,129.02 in interest at a r ate of 9% per annum for the time period of F ebrua ry 2005 throug h Dec ember

2006 as we ll as $15,773.59 in interest at a r ate of 9% per annum for the pe riod of time from January 2007 throug h September 2008, f or a total of $48,902.61 in i nte re st;
! $4 45 .0 0 in

le g a l c os ts, $1 ,4 40 .0 0 in

atto rn e y s’ fe e s, and

$6 ,5 54 .9 4 in

a ud iti ngc os ts, for a total of $8,439.94 in c os ts a nd atto rn e y s’ fe e s. There fore , pursuant to the ter ms of the Restated Agree ment and De clar ation of Trust and 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g) (2), the Court sha ll awar d the Fund a monetary judgme nt in the amount of $221,848.89
. IV . C ON CL USI ON F or the re a so ns se t f

or th a bo ve , th e Court

sh a ll G RA

NT Pla int if

f’ s [8] M oti on

fo r D e fa ult Judg me nt a

nd sh a ll e nte r a

jud g me nt f

or Pla int if f i n th e amou

nt o f $ 22 1, 84 8. 89 . A n a

pp ro pr iate order acc ompanies this memorandum opinion. Date: Apr il 20, 2009 /s/ C O LLE E N K O LLA R
- K O T E LLY Un i t edS t at es Di s tri ctJ u d ge