Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund et al v. Anderson & Anderson Backhoe Service/Demolition, LLC

Filing 10

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER : IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion for Default Order to Compel an Accounting, Doc. 6 , is GRANTED. Defendant is to provide to Plaintiffs, within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order, all books, ledge rs, payroll records, cash disbursement ledgers, bank statements and other documents reflecting or pertaining to all hours worked by and wages paid to Defendants employees from March 15, 2019 to date. The Court reserves jurisdiction to make such further orders and grant such additional relief, including but not limited to the entry of partial and final judgments, as it deems appropriate. Signed by District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on 09/02/2021. (KCD)

Case: 4:20-cv-01307-MTS Doc. #: 10 Filed: 09/02/21 Page: 1 of 2 PageID #: 85

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
GREATER ST. LOUIS CONSTRUCTION )
LABORERS WELFARE FUND, et al.,
)
)
Plaintiffs,
)
)
v.
)
)
ANDERSON & ANDERSON BACKHOE )
SERVICE/DEMOLITION, LLC,
)
)
Defendant.
)

Case No. 4:20 CV 1307 MTS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Entry of Default Order to Compel
an Accounting, Doc. [6]. Plaintiffs—a group of employee benefit plans (the “Funds”), their
trustees, and the union affiliated with those benefit plans (the “Union”)—filed this action to
recover from Defendant delinquent contributions, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees, and costs
pursuant to Sections 502 and 515 of ERISA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1132 and 1145, and Section 301 of the
Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185. Doc. [1]. Plaintiffs filed the case on
September 23, 2020, and Defendant was served with the Summons and Complaint on October 24,
2020. Doc. [3]. Defendant has not filed an answer or otherwise contested the Complaint. The
Clerk of Court entered default against Defendant on February 25, 2021, consistent with Fed. R.
Civ. P. 55(a), and Plaintiffs subsequently moved for a default order of accounting. Defendant has
not responded to either the entry of default or Plaintiffs’ Motion.
Once default has been entered against a defendant, “the allegations of the complaint, except
as to the amount of damages[,] are taken as true.” Greater St. Louis Constr. Laborers Welfare
Fund v. Gateway Constr. Servs., No. 4:20-cv-00808-SEP, 2020 WL 6483944, at *1 (E.D. Mo.

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Case: 4:20-cv-01307-MTS Doc. #: 10 Filed: 09/02/21 Page: 2 of 2 PageID #: 86

Nov. 4, 2020) (quoting Greater St. Louis Constr. Laborers Welfare Fund v. AbatePro, Inc., 4:17cv-02812-AGF, 2018 WL 5849980, at *1 (E.D. Mo. Sept. 6, 2018)). “With respect to damages in
an action for delinquent fringe benefits, pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2), a plaintiff is entitled
to recover all of the principal contributions owed, plus interest, liquidated damages . . ., attorneys’
fees, and costs.” Id. at *2.
At all times relevant to this action, Defendant was bound by a collective bargaining
agreement (“CBA”) with the Union. Plaintiffs attached the CBA, relevant trust and fund
documents, and affidavits in support of their Motion. Under the CBA, Defendant was obligated
to submit monthly reports and contributions to various employee benefit funds and authorizes
Plaintiffs to examine the financial records of the Defendant to ascertain whether the required
contributions were made. The only way in which Plaintiffs can determine the amount owed is
through such a financial examination.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ Motion for Default Order to Compel an
Accounting, Doc. [6], is GRANTED. Defendant is to provide to Plaintiffs, within thirty (30) days
of the date of this Order, all 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 March 15, 2019 to date. The Court reserves jurisdiction to make such
further orders and grant such additional relief, including but not limited to the entry of partial and
final judgments, as it deems appropriate.
Dated this 2nd day of September 2021

MATTHEW T. SCHELP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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