Opinion ID: 751538
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Titan's Claim v. NYDOL's Claim

Text: 28 Titan maintains that the district court erred by giving the New York Department of Labor's claim under section 220-b of New York Labor Law priority over its claim. 29 New York Labor Law § 220, known as the prevailing wage law, requires that all employees on public work projects be paid the prevailing rate of wages and supplements for the locality in which the project is located. N.Y. Labor Law § 220. Whenever the Commissioner of Labor determines that there are unpaid wages or supplements due under a contract that is subject to the New York prevailing wage law, the Commissioner must notify the concerned public agency to withhold from money due the contractor a sufficient sum to satisfy the law. § 220-b(2)(A). 30 In the fall of 1991, NYDOL determined that Farney had failed to pay prevailing wages and supplements to two employees. Following § 220-b, NYDOL issued a notice to TBTA to withhold $48,450.00 from payments due Farney, representing NYDOL's estimate of underpayments, interest and a possible penalty. At the time of Farney's default, the TBTA had actually withheld $21,495.65 from Farney pursuant to this notice. 31 Titan believes that the $21,495.65 should not have been awarded to NYDOL because Farney had already defaulted before NYDOL sent the notice to TBTA to withhold payment to Farney. Titan argues that, once Farney had defaulted, Farney was no longer owed any money; and therefore, no money could properly be withheld pursuant to section 220-b. This argument will not detain us long, because we do not agree that Farney was already in default when TBTA received NYDOL's notice. 32 In August 1995, the Internal Revenue Service submitted a Rule 3(g) Statement setting forth the facts as to which the IRS believed there was no genuine issue. In paragraph 8 of the 3(g) Statement, the IRS asserted that [a]t the time of Farney's default, the TBTA was holding $97,601.88 ... which Farney had earned, but had not been paid under the Contract. Titan took no exception to this assertion. Because it is undisputed that the $21,495.65 withheld pursuant to NYDOL's notice is part of the $97,601.88 TBTA already held at the time of Farney's default, the IRS's statement obviously means that the $21,495.65 was held by TBTA at the time of default. Because this money was withheld pursuant to NYDOL's notice, the notice must have been received by TBTA prior to Farney's default. 33 It is well established that if a party fails to object or respond to the factual assertions in an opposing party's 3(g) Statement, those factual assertions will be deemed true. See Champion v. Artuz, 76 F.3d 483, 486 (2d Cir.1996)(per curiam). This Court has recently cautioned that it will not accept the tactic of contending on appeal that summary judgment was inappropriate on the ground that there were issues of fact to be tried after [a party] had declined to dispute the government's Rule 3(g) Statement. United States v. All Right, Title and Interest in Real Property and Appurtenances, 77 F.3d 648, 658 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 117 S.Ct. 67 (1996). Because Titan did not object to the IRS's implicit statement that Farney was not yet in default when TBTA received NYDOL's notice to withhold, we will not entertain an argument that now contradicts an undisputed 3(g) statement. 34 Titan makes a last ditch effort (in its reply brief) to call into question the granting of super-priority to a claim under Labor Law § 220-b, noting that super-priority status has to date been granted only to a perfected mechanic's lien. Titan contends that, because a labor lien under § 220-b is not the equivalent of a mechanic's lien, it was inappropriate to grant NYDOL's labor lien super-priority status. The core of Titan's argument is that giving any recognition at all to NYDOL's claim under § 220-b was improper because Farney was already in default when Titan received NYDOL's notice. We have earlier rejected this argument, supra. Because we find that no substantial issue has been raised regarding the granting of super-priority status to § 220-b claims we will leave resolution of that unbriefed issue to a more appropriate time. 35