Trustees of The Building Trades Annuity Benefit Fund v. Pentagon Electric, Inc.
Case Details
- Nature of Suit — the legal category of the dispute
- Labor: E.R.I.S.A.
- Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
- Unknown
- Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
- default judgment
- State
- New York
- Circuit
- Second Circuit
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Claim Types
Outcome
Court granted default judgment in favor of the Funds against Pentagon Electric Inc. and Barry Hirsch for failure to pay delinquent benefit fund contributions under ERISA and the Labor Management Relations Act. Defendants were ordered to pay $35,349.80 in total damages, liquidated damages, interest, attorney's fees, and costs.
What This Ruling Means
Court Rules Company Must Pay $35,349.80 for Unpaid Worker Benefits
What Happened
Pentagon Electric Inc. and its owner, Barry Hirsch, failed to pay money into a worker benefits fund as required by law. Employees contribute to these benefit funds for retirement, healthcare, and other protections. Employers are legally required to match these contributions. The fund trustees sued to recover the unpaid amounts.
What the Court Decided
The court sided with the benefits fund and ordered Pentagon Electric to pay $35,349.80. This total included the unpaid contributions plus additional penalties, interest, and attorney fees. The company lost the case because it did not respond to the lawsuit, resulting in a default judgment against them.
Why This Matters for Workers
This ruling reinforces that employers cannot simply skip payments into worker benefit funds. When companies fail to pay these contributions, workers lose money they earned and deserve for retirement and healthcare protection. Courts will hold employers accountable and force them to pay back what they owe, protecting workers' financial security and benefits.
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. Case outcomes, claim types, and summaries are extracted using AI analysis and may be incomplete or inaccurate. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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