Trustees of the Operating Engineers Pension Trust v. Smith-Emery Company
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
I. INTRODUCTION
This case is the latest iteration of a labor dispute between plaintiff trustees (“Trustees”) of 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 Trustees allege that Smith-Emery violated the terms of certain labor agreements between Smith- Emery (or its bargaining agents) and Local 12 by failing to make payments into the Trust Funds for the benefit of Local 12 members employed by Smith-Emery. 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 in violation of the Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). Compl. J 14-28. On July 15, 2019, Smith-Emery filed an answer asserting 13 affirmative defenses and attached a