Opinion ID: 4565238
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events Leading up to the Arbitration Dispute

Text: In 2001, MZM Construction Company, a New Jersey corporation, hired workers from a local labor union for a construction project at the Newark Liberty International Airport. The following year, MZM’s president and sole shareholder, Marjorie Perry, signed a one-page, short-form agreement (SFA) with the union. Work on the Newark Airport project concluded in 2004. The SFA states that, “in order to expand the work opportunities of both parties,” MZM and the union “agree to be bound by the conditions as set forth in the 1999 Building, 3 Site and General Construction Agreement, which expires April 30, 2002,” and its successor, “the 2002 Building, Site and General Construction Agreement, which successor becomes effective May 1, 2002.” JA64. Both agreements are “incorporated” into the SFA “in full.” Id. The parties refer to the agreements referenced in the SFA as collective bargaining agreements or CBAs. The SFA does not include any other substantive terms, nor does it indicate whether the CBAs were attached to it. Under the 2002 CBA, employers are required to make contributions to the New Jersey Building Laborers’ Statewide Benefit Funds in accordance with “the applicable trust agreement.” JA89 (2002 CBA, art. 14.10). The 2002 CBA was to remain in effect through April 2007, when it would automatically self-renew on a “year-to-year” basis unless terminated by the contracting parties.1 JA98 (2002 CBA art. 23.10). From 2001 through 2018, MZM remitted more than $500,000 in contributions to the Funds for work related to the Newark Airport project, as well as several other unrelated jobs. When making those contributions, MZM executed and submitted remittance reports, several of which expressly reference “Collective Bargaining Agreements” and certain trust agreements. JA320-45, 355. Perry signed those reports in her capacity as MZM’s president. The 2002 CBA and related trust agreement give the Funds the authority to audit the books of contracting employers to validate that all required contributions have been made. In 1 There is no contention that MZM has ever attempted to terminate any CBA. 4 2018, the Funds invoked this authority to ensure that contributions made by MZM from October 2014 through September 2017 “were made in accordance with collective bargaining agreements.” JA361. MZM consented to and participated in the audit. Following the audit, the Funds determined that MZM owed about $230,000 in contributions for the relevant time period. When MZM questioned the basis for the alleged liability, the Funds produced the SFA that Perry signed in 2002, along with an unsigned copy of the 2002 CBA.2 The Funds further informed MZM that, absent payment, a collection dispute would be submitted to arbitration. The trust agreement gives the Funds the option of going to court or “designat[ing] a permanent arbitrator to hear and determine collection disputes.” JA290 (Trust Agreement, art. V § 4). In addition, the 2002 CBA contains an arbitration clause pursuant to which the contracting parties agree to arbitrate, among other things, “questions or grievances involving the interpretation and application of this Agreement,” i.e., the 2002 CBA. JA96-97 (2002 CBA, art. 21.20(b)); JA68 (2002 CBA Preamble (defining the “Agreement” as “this Collective Bargaining Agreement”)). The arbitration clause includes a provision stating: “The Arbitrator shall have the authority to decide whether an Agreement exists, where that is in dispute.” JA97 (2002 CBA, art. 21.20(c)). The Funds unilaterally scheduled arbitration to begin in November 2018. 2 They also produced a copy of the then-active 2016 CBA, which was also unsigned. 5