McGriff et al v. Ochoa et al

Filing 14

MEMORANDUM AND OPINION by Senior Judge Thomas B. Russell on 8/8/2017; re 11 MOTION for Default Judgment as to Defendants filed by Doug Robinson, Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters, Greg Hauswald, Joe Coar, Mark McGriff, William Nix, Douglas J. McCarron ; a separate order and judgment shall enter.cc:counsel, Suzanne Ochoa (KJA)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY
LOUISVILLE DIVISION
CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:17-CV-00213-TBR
MARK McGRIFF, et al.,

Plaintiffs,

v.
SUZANNE OCHOA, d/b/a Solis Stone
Fabrication of KY, Inc., d/b/a Solis
Stone of KY, d/b/a Solis Stone of Kentucky LLC, et al.,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION
Plaintiffs filed this action against Defendants on April 7, 2017.
(Complaint).]

[R. 1

Since the commencement of this action, Defendants have neither

appeared, nor filed an answer or any other pleadings. Upon proper motion, the Court
entered default against them on June 1, 2017. [R. 9 (Entry of Default).] Pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 55(b)(2), Plaintiffs now move for the entry of a default
judgment against Defendants. [R. 11 (Motion for Entry of Default Judgment).]
A brief description of the claims pleaded in the complaint is necessary. In Count
I, the Trust Fund Plaintiffs, as defined in the margin,1 allege that Defendant Suzanne
Ochoa (d/b/a Solis Stone Fabrication of KY, Inc., d/b/a Solis Stone of KY, and d/b/a
Solis Stone of Kentucky LLC) failed to make contributions required by the parties’
1

The term Trust Fund Plaintiffs refers to Mark McGriff, Board of Trustees Chairman, on behalf of
Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund; Doug Robinson, Board of Trustees
Secretary, on behalf of Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Pension Fund; Greg
Hauswald, Secretary, on behalf of Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Defined
Contribution Pension Trust Fund; Mark McGriff, Board of Trustees Co-Chairman, on behalf of
Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Welfare Fund; William Nix, Board of Trustees CoChairman, on behalf of Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Welfare Fund; Mark
McGriff, Board of Trustees Chairman, on behalf of Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters
Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund; Joe Coar, Board of Trustees Secretary, on behalf of
Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund; Douglas
J. McCarron, Board of Trustees Chairman, on behalf of United Brotherhood of Carpenters Apprenticeship
Training Fund of North America.

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contract, thereby violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (29 U.S.C. §§
1132, 1145). [Id. at 3–5.] In Count II, the Union Plaintiff, the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio
Regional Council of Carpenters, alleges that Defendant Ochoa failed to make payroll
deductions required by the parties’ collective bargaining agreement, thereby violating the
Labor-Management Relations Act (29 U.S.C. § 185) as well. [Id. at 5–6.] Count III and
Count IV allege the same respective claims against Defendant Solis Stone of Kentucky
LLC (d/b/a Solis Stone Fabrication of KY, Inc. and d/b/a Solis Stone of KY). [Id. at 6–
10.]
Upon default, the Court takes as true all factual allegations in the complaint
except those relating to the amount of damages. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(6); see also Thomas
v. Miller, 489 F.3d 293, 299 (6th Cir. 2007); Antoine v. Atlas Turner, Inc., 66 F.3d 105,
110 (6th Cir. 1995). Even after the entry of default, however, the decision “to grant a
default judgment is within the Court’s discretion.” AF Holdings LLC v. Bossard, 976 F.
Supp. 2d 927, 929 (W.D. Mich. 2013) (citing Flaks v. Koegel, 504 F.2d 702, 707 (2d Cir.
1974)).

In determining whether to enter a default judgment, courts in this Circuit

typically consider factors such as:
[1] the amount of money potentially involved; [2] whether material issues
of fact or issues of substantial public importance are at issue; [3] whether
the default is largely technical; [4] whether plaintiff has been substantially
prejudiced by the delay involved; [5] and whether the grounds for default
are clearly established or are in doubt.
10A Charles A. Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure § 2685 (4th ed.), Westlaw
(database updated Apr. 2017) (footnotes omitted).
Here, taking all allegations of the complaint as true, Defendants violated the
parties’ collective bargaining agreement by failing to make required contributions and
payroll deductions. The Plaintiffs are entitled to recover the unpaid contributions and
2

payroll deductions, see 29 U.S.C. §§ 1132(g)(2), which total $53,963.43, [R. 11-1 at 1, ¶
5 (Hanley’s Affidavit)]. In addition, the Plaintiffs are entitled to recover reasonable
attorney’s fees and costs, see 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2)(D), which total $2,475.50, [R. 11-2
at 1, ¶ 3 (Berkowitz’s Affidavit)]. The amount is a reasonable sum. [See id. at 2 (Billing
Records).] Accordingly, the Court will enter a default judgment against Defendants in
the amount of $56,438.93.
The Plaintiffs Motion for Entry of Default Judgment, [R. 11], is GRANTED. A
separate order and judgment shall issue.
Date:

August 8, 2017

cc:

Counsel of Record
Suzanne Ochoa
d/b/a Solis Stone Fabrication of KY, Inc.
d/b/a Solis Stone of KY
d/b/a Solis Stone of Kentucky LLC
c/o 3821 W. Morse
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Suzanne Ochoa
d/b/a Solis Stone Fabrication of KY, Inc.
d/b/a Solis Stone of KY
d/b/a Solis Stone of Kentucky LLC
7193 Happy Valley Road
Cave City, KY 42127
Solis Stone of Kentucky LLC
c/o Corporate Creations Network
3411 Silverside Road #104 Rodney Bldg
Wilmington, DE 19810

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