Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund et al v. STL Saw Pros, LLC

Filing 18

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' motion for an order compelling an accounting is GRANTED. (Doc. No. 12.) IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant shall submit its books to an audit by an auditor of Plaintiffs' choice, within 21 days of the date of this Memorandum and Order, at Defendant's cost. Failure to comply with this Order may result in a finding of civil contempt and the imposition of sanctions including a fine and/or incarceration. IT IS FURTHER ORDERE D that Plaintiffs shall effect service of this Memorandum and Order on Defendant by whatever means they believe to be most effective, and shall promptly file a certificate of such service. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs shall have 14 days afte r completion of the audit to file a properly supported motion for default judgment. If said motion is not filed prior to October 2, 2014, Plaintiff shall file a status report with the Court by that date. Failure to comply with this order may result in the dismissal of this action without prejudice. (Response to Court due by 10/2/2014.) Signed by District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on 8/28/2014. (NCL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
GREATER ST. LOUIS
CONSTRUCTION LABORERS
WELFARE FUND, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
STL SAW PROS, LLC,
Defendant.

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Case No. 4:13CV02430 AGF

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motion for an order compelling
Defendant STL Saw Pros, LLC, to account to Plaintiffs, by means of an audit, for all
amounts owing to Plaintiffs as a result of delinquent payments to employee benefit funds
under the Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, as amended, 29
U.S.C. § 185, and Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(“ERISA”), as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 1132. On August 21, 2014, the Clerk of Court
entered default against Defendant. Plaintiffs now seek the audit so that they can
determine the amount of Defendant’s liability. Defendant has not responded to the
motion.
Requiring an audit is an appropriate form of relief in an ERISA case for delinquent
benefits where the amount of the delinquency is not known. Int’l Painters & Allied
Trades Indus. Pension Fund v. R.W. Amrine Drywall Co., Inc., 239 F. Supp. 2d 26, 33
(D.D.C. 2002) (stating that an audit “promote[s] the legislative intent of ERISA”);

Maguire v. Am. Piles, Inc., 2002 WL 31626972, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 21, 2002)
(specifying documents to be produced for an audit).
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ motion for an order compelling an
accounting is GRANTED. (Doc. No. 12.)
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant shall submit its books to an audit by
an auditor of Plaintiffs’ choice, within 21 days of the date of this Memorandum and Order,
at Defendant’s cost. Failure to comply with this Order may result in a finding of civil
contempt and the imposition of sanctions including a fine and/or incarceration.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs shall effect service of this
Memorandum and Order on Defendant by whatever means they believe to be most
effective, and shall promptly file a certificate of such service.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiffs shall have 14 days after completion
of the audit to file a properly supported motion for default judgment. If said motion is not
filed prior to October 2, 2014, Plaintiff shall file a status report with the Court by that date.
Failure to comply with this order may result in the dismissal of this action without
prejudice.

_______________________________
AUDREY G. FLEISSIG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 28th day of August, 2014.