Iron Workers District Council Annuity Trust et al v. Steel Rebar Manufacturing, LLC

Filing 21

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 18 ) is GRANTED. Plaintiffs are awarded $102,979.17 in delinquent contributions for the period of February 26, 2014, through September 30, 2015, $10,297.93 in liquidated damages, $12,403.50 in interest, and $3,373.28 in attorneys fees and costs, for a total of $129,053.88. Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 5/25/16. (JAB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

IRON WORKERS DISTRICT COUNCIL
ANNUITY TRUST, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
STEEL REBAR MANUFACTURING, LLC,
Defendant.

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Case No. 4:15-cv-00777-JAR

MEMORANDUM & ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment filed with the
Court on February 8, 2016 (Doc. 18). Defendant Steel Rebar Manufacturing, LLC (“Steel
Rebar”) has notified the Court that it chose not to oppose the motion (Doc. 20). For the following
reasons, the Court will grant the unopposed motion.
Plaintiffs filed this action on May 15, 2015, pursuant Sections 502 and 515 of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1002, 1132, and
1145 (“ERISA”). In their complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that Steel Rebar failed to file reports
evidencing hours worked and failed to make the required contributions and dues remissions
under the parties’ collective bargaining agreement since September 2014 (Doc. 1). Steel Rebar
filed an Answer (Doc. 12). Plaintiffs now move for summary judgment, seeking $102,979.17 in
unpaid contributions, $10,297.93 in liquidated damages, $12,403.50 in interest, and $3,373.28 in
attorneys’ fees and costs (Doc. 18). In support of their motion, Plaintiffs have submitted an
affidavit of Michael Evans, counsel for Plaintiffs; an affidavit of Joyce Larson, Plan Manager for

the Iron Workers St. Louis District Council Funds 1; and an affidavit of Brad Soderstrom, the
auditor who performed a payroll examination of Steel Rebar for period of February 26, 2014,
through September 30, 2015 (Docs. 18.4-18.9).
As a result of Steel Rebar’s failure to respond to Plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion, it
has not met the requirements of E.D. Mo. L.R. 7-4.01(E), 2 and is deemed to have admitted all
facts in Plaintiffs’ statement of uncontroverted facts. Turner v. Shinseki, No. 4:08-cv-1910, 2010
WL 2555114, at *2 (E.D. Mo. June 22, 2010). However, Steel Rebar’s failure to properly
respond to the motion for summary judgment does not mean that summary judgment should be
automatically granted in favor of Plaintiffs. Even where a motion for summary judgment is
unopposed, the district court must still determine that the moving party is entitled to judgment as
a matter of law. Interstate Power Co. v. Kansas City Power & Light Co., 992 F.2d 804, 807 (8th
Cir. 1993).
The Court may grant a motion for summary judgment if the movant shows that there is
no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of
law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Peterson v. Kopp, 754 F.3d 594, 598 (8th Cir. 2014). In passing on a
motion for summary judgment, the Court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the

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The Iron Workers District Council Annuity Trust, the Iron Workers St. Louis District
Council Pension Fund, and the Iron Workers St. Louis District Council Welfare Plan.
2

Local Rule 7-4.01(E) provides that “[a] memorandum in support of a motion for
summary judgment shall have attached a statement of uncontroverted material facts, set forth in a
separately numbered paragraph for each fact, indicating whether each fact is established by the
record, and, if so, the appropriate citations. Every memorandum in opposition shall include a
statement of material facts as to which the party contends a genuine dispute exists. Those matters
in dispute shall be set forth with specific references to portions of the record, where available,
upon which the opposing party relies. The opposing party also shall note for all disputed facts the
paragraph number from movant’s listing of facts. All matters set forth in the statement of the
movant shall be deemed admitted for purposes of summary judgment unless specifically
controverted by the opposing party.”
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nonmoving party, and must draw all reasonable inferences in the nonmoving party’s favor.
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986).
The following facts are undisputed. Steel Rebar is bound by a collective bargaining
agreement with Iron Workers Local No. 396. The agreement requires Steel Rebar to submit
contributions to the Funds and entitles the Funds to conduct an audit of an employer’s records to
determine if the required contributions have been made (Docs. 18.5; 18.6 at 17-20; 18.7). The
agreement also requires employers to pay ten percent liquidated damages on delinquent
contributions to the Funds, and requires delinquent employers to pay interest, attorneys’ fees, and
costs should the Funds file suit to recoup delinquent contributions (Doc. 18.6 at 25). An audit for
the period of February 26, 2014, through September 30, 2015, revealed that Steel Rebar owes the
Funds $102,979.17 in unpaid contributions, $10,297.93 in liquidated damages, and $12,403.50 in
interest (Docs. 18.8-18.9). Plaintiffs have incurred attorneys’ fees and other costs in this action
totaling $3,373.28 (Docs. 18.4, 18.8). The total amount owed by Steel Rebar for the period of
February 26, 2014, through September 30, 2015 is $129,053.88. Upon review of Plaintiffs’
motion, the Court finds that Plaintiffs are entitled to judgment as a matter of law, and that their
requested amounts are reasonable and properly supported by the record. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 18) is
GRANTED. Plaintiffs are awarded $102,979.17 in delinquent contributions for the period of
February 26, 2014, through September 30, 2015, $10,297.93 in liquidated damages, $12,403.50
in interest, and $3,373.28 in attorneys’ fees and costs, for a total of $129,053.88.
Dated this 25th day of May, 2016.

_______________________________
JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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