TEAMSTERS HEALTH AND WELFARE FUND OF PHILADELPHIA AND VICINITY et al v. ROCK CANYON, INC.

Filing 8

MEMORANDUM ORDER granting 7 Motion for Reconsideration; the judgment entered in favor of Plaintiffs and against Defendant on March 2, 2015 shall be AMENDED to provide for judgment in the amount of $16,366.51, representing $11,898.80 in unpaid benefit contributions, $1,189.88 in liquidated damages, $229.03 in accrued interest, $2,535.00 in attorneys' fees, and $513.80 in costs. Case Closed. Signed by Judge Renee Marie Bumb on 3/24/15. (js)

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

[Dkt. Ent. 7]

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
CAMDEN VICINAGE

TEAMSTERS HEALTH AND WELFARE
FUND OF PHILADELPHIA AND
VICINITY, and WILLIAM J.
EINHORN, Administrator,

Civil Action No. 14-04425
(RMB/JS)

Plaintiffs,

MEMORANDUM ORDER

v.
ROCK CANYON, INC.,
Defendant.

BUMB, United States District Judge:
This matter comes before the Court upon a motion for
reconsideration filed by Plaintiffs Teamsters Health and Welfare
Fund of Philadelphia and Vicinity and William J. Einhorn,
Administrator (the “Plaintiffs”). (Dkt. Ent. 7.) On March 2,
2015, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment
against Defendant Rock Canyon, Inc. (the “Defendant”), but
denied Plaintiffs’ request for liquidated damages and attorneys’
fees for paralegal work, finding that Plaintiffs had failed to
adequately support its requests. (See Dkt. Ent. 6.) The Court
also permitted Plaintiffs to file supplemental materials in
support of their requests within twenty (20) days of the Order.
Plaintiffs have now done so and, for the reasons set forth
below, the Court will grant the motion and award judgment in
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favor of Plaintiffs in the amount of $1,189.88 as liquidated
damages and $945.00 in additional attorneys’ fees. 1
As the Court recognized in its March 2 Order, if a court
enters judgment in favor of the plan fiduciary, ERISA section
502(g)(2) requires the court to award, among other things,
liquidated damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Operative Plasterers & Cement Masons Int’l Ass’n Local No. 8 v.
Specialty Stucco Restoration, No. 05-5879, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
92460, at *6 (D.N.J. Dec. 20, 2006) (citing 29 U.S.C.
§ 1132(g)(2)); see also LIUNA, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120769, at
*10. In support of its request for $1,189.88 in liquidated
damages, Plaintiffs have now submitted the Agreement and
Declaration of Trust of the Teamsters Pension Trust Fund, which
grants the Trustee the authority to establish the policy and
rules of the plan, to collect all contributions and other
payments, and to pay for all reasonable and necessary expenses
of collecting Fund contributions. (See Ex. 1 to Mot. at Art. IV
§§ 1(a), (d), & (j).) Plaintiffs also submitted the Agreement
and Declaration of Trust of the Teamsters Health and Welfare
Fund, which similarly provides the Trustee with the authority to
make rules and regulations, and to collect money owed to the
Trust. (See Ex. 2 to Mot. at § 9(e) & (g).) Pursuant to the

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These amounts are in addition to the judgment of
$14,231.63 entered on March 2, 2015. (See Dkt. Ent. 6.)
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authority set forth in these Agreements, the Trustees
established a policy of assessing 10% of the contributions owed
as liquidated damages, which is reflected in the Model Contract
Language for the Funds. (See Ex. 3 to Mot. at § 7, available at
www.teamsterfunds.com.) Accordingly, the Court finds that
Plaintiffs’ request for liquidated damages in the amount of
$1,189.88, or 10% of the outstanding remittances, is supported
by the Trust Agreements and Model Contract Language.
Plaintiffs also seek attorneys’ fees in the amount of
$945.00 for 6.3 hours of work performed by senior paralegal,
Kristine G. Becker. (See Dkt. Ent. 6 at 7; Exs. 7 & 8, Dkt. Ent.
5.) According to the Court’s calculation, Becker spent 6.3 hours
preparing the Complaint, coordinating service of process, and
calculating interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, among other
tasks. The Court originally denied these fees, requesting that
Plaintiffs support the $150/hour rate charged for this
paralegal’s services. In response, Plaintiffs submit the
Declaration of Susan A. Murray, who attests that Becker has been
employed as a paralegal, working for attorneys who represent
Taft-Hartley Funds since 1997. (Decl. ¶ 3.) She has been with
Freedman & Lorry, P.C., Plaintiffs’ counsel, for nearly 14
years, and works for four attorneys there. (Id.) Becker also
performs work consistent with that of a law clerk, such as legal
research, drafting pleadings and discovery, and trial
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preparation. (Id. at ¶¶ 4, 7.) Plaintiffs’ counsel explains in
her Declaration that Becker’s hourly rate is based upon her
“extensive experience” and “high rate of proficiency in the area
of ERISA litigation.” (Id. at ¶ 7.) Counsel also contends that
“[t]he difficulty in a market analysis of her rate stems from
[the] highly specialized area of her experience.” (Id.) Based
upon counsel’s affidavit and the nature of the services
performed by Becker (e.g., drafting the Complaint and
calculating amounts due), the Court is persuaded that $150/hour
is a reasonable hourly rate for the services provided. In so
holding, the Court agrees with counsel that Becker performed
tasks equivalent to that of a law clerk, and notes that the fees
would be much higher had an associate been tasked with drafting
the complaint. The Court further finds that $945.00 is a
reasonable amount in light of the nature of the case and the
services performed by Becker.
ACCORDINGLY, FOR THESE REASONS, IT IS on this, the 24th day
of March 2015, hereby
ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration is
GRANTED; and it is further
ORDERED that the judgment entered in favor of Plaintiffs
and against Defendant on March 2, 2015 shall be AMENDED to
provide for judgment in the amount of $16,366.51, representing
$11,898.80 in unpaid benefit contributions, $1,189.88 in
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liquidated damages, $229.03 in accrued interest, $2,535.00 in
attorneys’ fees, and $513.80 in costs; and it is further
ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall close this
matter.
s/Renée Marie Bumb
RENÉE MARIE BUMB
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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