Carpenters Health & Welfare Trust Fund v. Bla-Delco Construction, Inc.

I. OVERVIEW

Appellants (hereinafter the “Trust Funds”) filed an action against employer Bla-Delco Construction, Inc. under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), 29 U.S.C. § 1132 (e)(1), and the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), 29 U.S.C. § 185 (a), to recover delinquent employee benefit contributions. The district court dismissed the Trust Funds’ complaint because of their failure to exhaust contractual remedies set out in a collective bargaining agreement. This appeal followed. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse and remand.

II. BACKGROUND

Each Trust Fund is an employee benefit plan created by a separate, individual, written Trust Agreement. The Trust Agreements were negotiated between various employer associations and the Carpenters 46 Northern California Counties Conference Board, which acts on behalf of all affiliated Local Unions and District Counties in the 46 Northern California Counties (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “Union”).

The Union and the various employer associations have also negotiated a collective bargaining agreement known as the “Carpenters Master Agreement” (hereinafter the “CBA”). The CBA…