Trustees of the Pipe Industry Health and Welfare Fund of Colorado et al v. Expert Mechanical Services, Inc. et al

Filing 31

ORDER granting 29 Motion for Attorney Fees, by Judge Robert E. Blackburn on 9/30/2014.(trlee, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Judge Robert E. Blackburn
Civil Action No. 13-cv-00911-REB-KLM
TRUSTEES OF THE PIPE INDUSTRY HEALTH AND WELFARE FUND OF
COLORADO, an express trust,
TRUSTEES OF THE COLORADO PIPE INDUSTRY ANNUITY AND SALARY
DEFERRAL TRUST FUND, an express trust,
TRUSTEES OF THE DENVER PLUMBERS JOINT APPRENTICESHIP AND
TRAINING FUND, an express trust,
TRUSTEES OF THE PLUMBERS AND PIPEFITTERS NATIONAL PENSION FUND, an
express trust,
JOURNEYMEN PLUMBERS AND GAS FITTERS LOCAL UNION NO. 3, UNITED
ASSOCIATION OF JOURNEYMEN AND APPRENTICES OF THE PLUMBING & PIPE
FITTING INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, an unincorporated
association, and
MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN COLORADO, THE, a
Colorado corporation
Plaintiffs,
v.
EXPERT MECHANICAL SERVICES, INC.,a Colorado Corporation, and
EMPLOYERS MUTUAL CASUALTY COMPANY, an Iowa Corporation,
Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR ATTORNEY FEES
Blackburn, J.
This matter is before me is plaintiffs’ Motion For Attorney Fees [#29]1 filed July
23, 2014. I grant the motion.
Plaintiffs brought this action pursuant to section 1145 of the Employee

1

“[#29]” is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a
specific paper by the court’s case management and electronic case filing system (CM/ECF). I use this
convention throughout this order.

Retirement Income and Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1145.2 After
defendant Employers Mutual Casualty Company (“EMC”), paid the face value of its
surety bond in favor of defendant Expert Mechanical Services, Inc. (“Expert”), plaintiffs’
claims against EMC were dismissed with prejudice. (See Minute Order [#21], filed
December 12, 2013.) Default judgment subsequently was entered against Expert. (See
Default Judgment [#28], filed July 9, 2014.)
ERISA mandates an award of attorney fees and costs to a successful litigant in
these circumstances. See 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D). See also Trustees of Colorado
Statewide Ironworkers Joint Apprenticeship & Training Trust Fund v. A & P Steel,
Inc., 824 F.2d 817, 818 (10th Cir. 1987). Plaintiffs seeks to recover $8,865 in attorney
fees expended on this litigation. The affidavit and billing statement attached to plaintiffs’
motion demonstrate that counsel for plaintiffs expended a reasonable number of hours
on this litigation and charged a reasonable hourly rate for those services. It appears
further that plaintiffs’ counsel has exercised billing judgment in the presentation of the
fees sought to be recovered. Accordingly, I find and conclude that the motion should be
granted.
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED as follows:
1. That plaintiffs’ Motion For Attorney Fees [#29] filed July 23, 2014, is
GRANTED; and
2

29 U.S.C. § 1145 provides:
Every employer who is obligated to make contributions to a
multiemployer plan under the terms of the plan or under the terms of a
collectively bargained agreement shall, to the extent not inconsistent with
law, make such contributions in accordance with the terms and
conditions of such plan or such agreement.

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2. That pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D), plaintiffs are AWARDED attorney
fees of $8,865 .
Dated September 30, 2014, at Denver, Colorado.
BY THE COURT:

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