United States District Court, District of Columbia
MICHAEL A. CRABTREE, Plaintiff,
v.
ISLAND BREEZE MARINE, INC., Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiff
Michael A. Crabtree, the Chief Executive Officer of the
Central Pension Fund of the International Union of Operating
Engineers and Participating Employers, filed suit against
Defendant Island Breeze Marine, Inc., alleging the Defendant
failed to pay contributions owed to the Central Pension Fund.
Presently before the Court is the Plaintiff's [12] Motion
for Entry of Judgment by Default and to Close Case
(“Pl.'s Mot.”).
Upon
consideration of the pleadings, the relevant legal
authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court finds the
Plaintiff is entitled to a monetary award for unpaid
contributions, interest, liquidated damages, reasonable
attorney's fees, and costs. But the Court finds that some
components of the Plaintiff's requested award must be
adjusted. Accordingly, the Plaintiff's [12] Motion for
Entry of Judgment by Default is GRANTED-in-PART and
DENIED-in-PART. The Court shall enter a
JUDGMENT for the Plaintiff against the
Defendant in the amount of $29, 525.88, shall recognize the
Plaintiff's entitlement to post-judgment interest, and
shall CLOSE this case and
DISMISS it.
I.
BACKGROUND
On May
4, 2018, the Plaintiff filed suit asserting the Defendant is
required to “pay certain sums of money to the Central
Pension Fund for certain hours worked by employees of the
Defendant performing work covered by” a collective
bargaining agreement between the Defendant and International
Union of Operating Engineers Local 25. Compl., ECF No. 1,
¶¶ 6-7. But the Defendant allegedly “failed
to report hours worked and pay all contributions owing to the
Central Pension Fund as required by” that agreement for
work during May 2017 through March 2018. Id. ¶
9. Accordingly, the Plaintiff seeks: (1) a monetary award
covering the “unpaid contributions due and owing to the
Plaintiff for unreported work performed pursuant to the
Agreement”; (2) liquidated damages for “any late
paid and unpaid contributions”; (3) interest on
“any late paid and unpaid contributions”; and (4)
reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Id. at
4-5. In the Complaint, the Plaintiff also makes an ancillary
request “[f]or such contributions, interest and
liquidated damages that may accrue and/or are found to be due
and owing to the Plaintiff . . . up to the date of
judgment.” Id. at 4.
Thereafter
the Plaintiff experienced difficulties in perfecting service
on the Defendant but ultimately purported to achieve
substituted service via the Maryland State Department of
Assessments and Taxation. See Aff. of Attorney R.
Richard Hopp, ECF No. 6-1 (“Hopp Aff.”).
When
the Defendant failed to appear in the case, the Court
prompted further action by the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff
sought default, which the Clerk of Court entered on August
24, 2018. Again at the Court's prompting, the Plaintiff
then moved for default judgment.
II.
LEGAL STANDARD
Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 55(a) provides that the Clerk of the
Court must enter a party's request for a default
“[w]hen a party against whom a judgment for affirmative
relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and
that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise.”
Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(a). After a default has been entered by the
Clerk, a party may move the court for a default judgment.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(b)(2).
“The
determination of whether default judgment is appropriate is
committed to the discretion of the trial court.”
Int'l Painters & Allied Trades Indus. Pension
Fund v. Auxier Drywall, LLC, 531 F.Supp.2d 56, 57
(D.D.C. 2008) (citation omitted); 10A Charles Alan Wright et
al., Federal Practice & Procedure Civil § 2685 (4th
ed.). Factual allegations in a well-pleaded complaint against
a defaulting defendant are taken as true. Int'l
Painters & Allied Trades Indus. Pension Fund v. R.W.
Amrine Drywall Co., Inc., 239 F.Supp.2d 26, 30 (D.D.C.
2002) (citation omitted). Where there is a complete
“absence of any request to set aside the default or
suggestion by the defendant that it has a meritorious
defense, it is clear that the standard for default judgment
has been satisfied.” Auxier Drywall, LLC, 531
F.Supp.2d at 57 (citation and internal quotation marks
omitted).
Once
that standard has been met, the court must independently
determine the amount of damages to be awarded, unless the
amount of damages is certain. Int'l Painters &
Allied Trades Indus. Pension Fund v. Davanc Contracting,
Inc., 808 F.Supp.2d 89, 94 (D.D.C. 2011)
(Kollar-Kotelly, J.) (citing Adkins v. Teseo, 180
F.Supp.2d 15, 17 (D.D.C. 2001)).[1] In instances where the
amount of damages is not certain, “the court may
conduct a hearing” but “is not required to do so
. . . as long as it ensures that there is a basis for the
damages specified in the default judgment.” Flynn
v. Extreme Granite, Inc., 671 F.Supp.2d 157, 160 (D.D.C.
2009) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). In
making an independent determination, “the court may
rely on detailed affidavits or documentary evidence.”
Breaking the Chain Found., Inc. v. Capitol Educ. Support,
Inc., 589 F.Supp.2d 25, 28 (D.D.C. 2008)
(Kollar-Kotelly, J.) (quoting Adkins, 180 F.Supp.2d
at 17) (internal quotation marks omitted).
III.
DISCUSSION
The
Plaintiff, as a designated fiduciary of the Central Pension
Fund, filed suit to enforce the Defendant's obligations
to the fund, as provided by the Employee Retirement Income
Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). See 29
U.S.C. §§ 1002(21), 1132(a)(3) & (g), 1145;
Compl., ECF No. 1, ¶ 1. The Court has federal-question
jurisdiction over this action. See 28 U.S.C. §
1331; 29 U.S.C. § 1132(e)(1).
After
attempting service on the Defendant's registered agent in
Maryland, and finding that the registered agent had sold that
residence, the Plaintiff properly turned to, and perfected,
substituted service upon Maryland's State Department of
Assessments and Taxation. See Hopp Aff. ¶¶
2-7, 12-13 & Exs. 1-2, 5-6; Fed.R.Civ.P. 4(e)(1),
4(h)(1); Md. Rule 2-124(o)(ii) (providing for such service on
a corporation if, inter alia, “(ii) the
resident agent . . . is no longer at the address for service
of process maintained with the State Department of
Assessments and Taxation”).
In
light of the Defendant's default, the Court accepts the
Plaintiff's allegations as true. R.W. Amrine Drywall
Co., Inc., 239 F.Supp.2d at 30. The Court finds that the
Plaintiff's Complaint sufficiently alleges facts to
support his claims. The Plaintiff is thus entitled to default
judgment as to the Defendant's liability for its failure
to make contributions, or full contributions, owed to the
Central Pension Fund for certain work performed by the
Defendant's employees.
The
Plaintiff has not argued that the award he seeks consists of
sums certain, though perhaps he could have. See Boland v.
Yoccabel Constr. Co., Inc., 293 F.R.D. 13, 18, 19
(D.D.C. 2013) (citing Flynn v. Mastro Masonry
Contractors, 237 F.Supp.2d 66, 70 (D.D.C. 2002)).
Accordingly, the Court shall make its independent
determination of the monetary award to which the Plaintiff is
entitled. Davanc Contracting, Inc., 808 F.Supp.2d at
94. Under ERISA, that award “shall” include the
following:
(A) the unpaid contributions,
(B) interest on the unpaid contributions,
(C) an amount equal to the ...