Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund et al v. Century Building Group, LLC

Filing 29

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER -....IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs' motion to compel discovery is GRANTED. [Doc. 27] IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Mr. Rodrick Johnson, as a representative of Century Building Group, LLC, d/b/a Johnson Ce ment, shall appear for deposition and produce the records requested in the Notice of Rule 69 Deposition and Request for Production of Documents, at the offices of plaintiffs' counsel on Friday, March 18, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. IT IS FURTHER ORDE RED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this order by UPS Signature, in addition to first class U.S. Mail, on Mr. Rodrick Johnson, Johnson Cement and Finishing, 811 Bre-Mar Street, East St. Louis, Illinois 62203. Signed by District Judge Charles A. Shaw on 3/1/2016. (MRC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

GREATER ST. LOUIS CONSTRUCTION
LABORERS WELFARE FUND, et al.,
v.
CENTURY BUILDING GROUP, LLC,
Defendant.

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No. 4:14-CV-2119 CAS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This closed matter is before the Court on plaintiffs’ motion to compel post-judgment
discovery. Plaintiffs’ motion is accompanied by an affidavit of counsel and exhibit. No response
was filed to the motion and the time to do so has passed. For the following reasons, the Court will
grant the motion.
Background
Plaintiffs Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund (the “Union”) and the
Trustees of its various Trust and Training Funds filed this action under the Labor Management
Relations Act of 1947, as amended (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185, and the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1132(e)(1)and (f). The Complaint asserted
that defendant Century Building Group, LLC, f/k/a Johnson Cement & Finishing, LLC and doing
business as Johnson Cement, was bound by the provisions of a collective bargaining agreement to
forward to the Union amounts deducted from its employees’ paychecks as union dues, to submit
monthly reports showing the worked by each employee, and make monthly required payments.
Plaintiffs asserted that defendant failed and refused to pay the required contributions and submit the
required monthly reports for various months. The Complaint sought to require defendant to submit

its books and records for an audit and accounting, and sought judgment for the delinquent
contributions, interest, liquidated damages, accounting fees, attorney’s fees and costs.
Defendant was served with summons and complaint on January 8, 2015, but did not file an
answer or other responsive pleading within the time allowed by the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. On February 18, 2015, a Clerk’s Entry of Default pursuant was issued pursuant to Rule
55(a), Fed. R. Civ. P. [Doc. 9]
On March 5, 2015, the Court issued an Order granting plaintiffs’ Motion for Default Order
to Compel an Accounting, and ordered defendants to provide to plaintiffs within thirty days “all of
its books, ledgers, payroll records, cash disbursement ledgers, bank statements and other documents
reflecting or pertaining to all hours worked by and wages paid to defendant’s employees from
October 2, 2013, to date.” [Doc. 10]
On January 4, 2016, the Court granted plaintiffs’ Motion for Default Judgment and entered
a default judgment against defendant in the amount of Eighteen Thousand Nine Hundred Forty-Six
Dollars and Eighteen Cents ($18,946.18). [Doc. 22]
Motion to Compel
Plaintiffs’ motion to compel and the affidavit of attorney Nathan K. Gilbert assert that
plaintiffs served a notice of post-judgment deposition on Rodrick Johnson as a representative of
defendant on January 5, 2016, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69. The notice required
Mr. Johnson’s attendance at the office of plaintiffs’ counsel on February 12, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., and
the simultaneous production of certain documents relevant to plaintiffs’ efforts to collect the
judgment in this case. The affidavit states that neither Mr. Johnson nor any other representative of

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defendant appeared at the deposition or produced any documents, nor did any representative of the
defendant contact plaintiffs’ counsel with respect to the deposition notice.
Rule 69(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides, “[A] money judgment is
enforced by a writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise.” Rule 69(a)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P.
Rule 69 further provides that the procedure on execution, and in proceedings in aid of execution,
“must accord with the procedure of the state where the court is located, but a federal statute governs
to the extent it applies.” Id. Rule 69(a)(2) provides that in aid of a judgment or execution, a
judgment creditor “may obtain discovery from any person–including the judgment debtor–as
provided in [the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure] or by the procedure of the state where the court
is located.” Rule 69(a)(2), Fed. R. Civ. P.
Plaintiffs seek to take a post-judgment deposition in aid of execution of their judgment. This
procedure is appropriate pursuant to Rules 69(a) and 30 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
It appears to the Court from the affidavit of plaintiffs’ counsel that defendant was properly noticed
for deposition but failed to have its representative appear. Plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery
should therefore be granted, and Mr. Rodrick Johnson, as a representative of defendant, will be
ordered to appear for deposition at the offices of plaintiffs’ counsel, and to produce the requested
documents at the same time.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery is GRANTED.
[Doc. 27]
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Mr. Rodrick Johnson, as a representative of Century
Building Group, LLC, d/b/a Johnson Cement, shall appear for deposition and produce the records

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requested in the Notice of Rule 69 Deposition and Request for Production of Documents, at the
offices of plaintiffs’ counsel on Friday, March 18, 2016, at 10:00 a.m.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall serve a copy of this order
by UPS Signature, in addition to first class U.S. Mail, on Mr. Rodrick Johnson, Johnson Cement and
Finishing, 811 Bre-Mar Street, East St. Louis, Illinois 62203.

CHARLES A. SHAW
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated this 1st day of March, 2016.

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