Trustees of the Construction Industry & Laborers Health & Welfare Trust v. C & W Enterprises, Inc.

MEMORANDUM **

Defendant C & W Enterprises appeals the summary judgment entered in favor of Plaintiff Trustees of the Construction Industries. We affirm.

1. We review a summary judgment de novo. Boston Mut. Ins. v. Murphree, 242 F.3d 899 , 902 (9th Cir.2001). C & W is bound by the Master Labor Agreement (“Agreement”), including the provision requiring C & W to produce its books and records for a contract compliance audit. C & Ws president, Tony Moreno, signed the Agreement. For three reasons, his addition of the words “d/b/a T & J Demolition” to C & W’s name below his signature does not exempt C & W from the Agreement’s requirements.

First, because C & W chose to identify itself as, and sign the Agreement as, “C & W Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a T & J Demolition,” and because Plaintiffs relied on that representation, C & W is now estopped from asserting that such a business entity does not exist. See El Ranco, Inc. v. First Nat’l Bank of Nev., 406 F.2d 1205 , 1210 (9th Cir.1968) (explaining that the equitable doctrine of estoppel prohibits a business from denying corporate existence after holding itself out to be a corporate entity).

Second, when C & W signed the Agreement with the…