Trustees of the Operating Engineers Pension Trust v. Smith-Emery Company

I. INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

This case is the latest iteration of a labor dispute between plaintiff trustees (“Trustees”) that administer several trusts and funds (“Trust Funds”) that provide benefits to members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local Union No. 12 (“Local 12”), on the one hand, and Smith-Emery Company (“Smith-Emery”), a California corporation that performs construction tests and inspections, on the other. In broad terms, the dispute concerns allegations that Smith-Emery has failed, over the course of many years, to make payments into certain trusts for the benefit of Local 12 members employed by Smith-Emery, which the Trustees allege is required by labor agreements between Smith-Emery (or its bargaining agents) and Local 12. Trustees initiated this latest action on May 9, 2019, by filing a complaint against Smith-Emery in this Court. See Dkt. 1 (“Compl.”). The complaint states a single claim for relief for breach of collective bargaining agreements, and violation of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Compl. §[ 14-28. Smith-Emery filed an answer on July 15, 2019, asserting 13 affirmative defenses, and attached a…