Trustees of Empire State Carpenters Annuity, Apprenticeship, Labor-Management Cooperation, Pension and Welfare Funds v. Duncan & Son Carpentry, Inc.

Filing 14

MEMORANDUM & ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION; Judge Shields' R&R (Docket Entry 12) is ADOPTED in its entirety. The Petition to confirm and enforce the arbitration award (Docket Entry 1) is GRANTED. The Clerk of the Court is directe d to enter judgment in favor of Petitioners in the amount of $419,054.17, plus attorneys' fees of $562.50, and costs of $467.50, for a total award of $420,084.17. Petitioners are directed to mail a copy of this Order to the Respondent and file proof of service on ECF within five (5) days. So Ordered by Judge Joanna Seybert on 3/10/2017. C/ECF (Valle, Christine)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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TRUSTEES OF EMPIRE STATE CARPENTERS
ANNUITY, APPRENTICESHIP, LABOR
MANAGEMENT COOPERATION, PENSION
and WELFARE FUNDS,

MEMORANDUM & ORDER
15-CV-2843(JS)(AYS)

Petitioners,
-againstDUNCAN & SON CARPENTRY, INC.,
Respondent.
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APPEARANCES
For Petitioners:
Charles R. Virginia, Esq.
Nicole Marimon, Esq.
Elina Burke, Esq.
Virginia & Ambinder LLP
40 Broad Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10004
For Respondent:

No appearance

SEYBERT, District Judge:
Pending before the Court is Magistrate Judge Anne Y.
Shields’ Report and Recommendation (“R&R”) recommending that this
Court: (1) treat the unopposed petition to confirm the arbitration
award as an unopposed motion for summary judgment, (2) grant the
petition to confirm and enforce the arbitration award, and (3)
direct the Clerk of the Court to enter judgment in favor of
petitioners in the amount of $420,084.17. (R&R, Docket Entry 12,
at 1.)

For the following reasons, the Court ADOPTS Judge Shields’

R&R in its entirety.

BACKGROUND
On May 18, 2015, Trustees of Empire State Carpenters
Annuity, Apprenticeship, Labor Management Cooperation, Pension and
Welfare Funds (“Petitioners”) filed a petition to confirm and
enforce an arbitration award (the “Petition”) against Duncan & Son
Carpentry, Inc., (“Respondent”) pursuant to section 502(a)(3) of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), 29
U.S.C. § 1132(a)(3), Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations
Act of 1947 (“LMRA”), as amended 29 U.S.C. § 185, and Section 9 of
the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 9.
¶1.)

(Pet., Docket Entry 1,

An arbitrator rendered an award against Respondent in the

amount of $419,054.17 on January 22, 2015, after concluding that
Respondent violated several collective bargaining agreements with
the Northeast Regional Council of Carpenters f/k/a the Empire State
Regional Council of Carpenters.

(Pet. ¶¶ 7, 20-21.)

Respondent

has failed to abide by the award, (Pet. ¶ 23), and has not appeared
in this action.
On

August

22,

2016,

the

undersigned

referred

the

Petition to Judge Shields for a Report and Recommendation on
whether the Petition should be granted.
Entry 11.)

(Referral Order, Docket

On January 30, 2017, Judge Shields issued her R&R

recommending that: (1) the unopposed Petition be treated as an
unopposed motion for summary judgment, (2) the Petition to enforce
and confirm the award be granted, and (3) judgment be entered in
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favor of Petitioners in the amount of $419,054.17, plus attorneys’
fees of $562.50, and costs of $467.50, for a total award of
$420,084.17.

(R&R at 1.)
DISCUSSION

In reviewing an R&R, a district court “may accept,
reject,

or

modify,

in

whole

or

in

part,

recommendations made by the magistrate judge.”
(1)(C).

the

findings

and

28 U.S.C. § 636(b)

If no timely objections have been made, the “court need

only satisfy itself that there is no clear error on the face of
the record.”

Urena v. New York, 160 F. Supp. 2d 606, 609-10

(S.D.N.Y. 2001) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
Objections were due within fourteen (14) days of service
of the R&R.

The time for filing objections has expired, and no

party has objected.

Accordingly, all objections are hereby deemed

to have been waived.
Upon careful review and consideration, the Court finds
Judge Shields’ R&R to be comprehensive, well-reasoned, and free of
clear error, and it ADOPTS the R&R in its entirety.
CONCLUSION
Judge Shields’ R&R (Docket Entry 12) is ADOPTED in its
entirety.

The Petition to confirm and enforce the arbitration

award (Docket Entry 1) is GRANTED.

The Clerk of the Court is

directed to enter judgment in favor of Petitioners in the amount
of $419,054.17, plus attorneys’ fees of $562.50, and costs of
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$467.50, for a total award of $420,084.17.

Petitioners are

directed to mail a copy of this Order to the Respondent and file
proof of service on ECF within five (5) days.

SO ORDERED.

/s/ JOANNA SEYBERT______
Joanna Seybert, U.S.D.J.
Dated:

March
10 , 2017
Central Islip, New York

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