PHILADELPHIA – The Local Union No. 420 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada, along with the Steamfitters Union Local No. 420 various funds and plans, is suing an individual and a mechanical corporation over delinquent contribution allegations.
The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against M-Cat Mechanical Inc., and Michael Catalano on Jan. 4 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The union funds includes the welfare fund, the pension fund, the supplemental retirement plan, the vacation fund, the apprenticeship fund, scholarship fund of steamfitters, industry advancement fund and the political and education fund.
According to the suit, Catalano is the owner of M-Cat. M-Cat was a party to a collective bargaining agreement with the plaintiffs, where the company was to make a full and timely payment, file monthly remittance reports, produce and pay interest, liquidated damages, audit fees and all costs of litigation to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act Funds, the complaint states. An audit was conducted by the plaintiffs in 2014 and 2015 for the employer’s contributions and allegedly found that M-Cat failed to pay the amounts demanded.
The union is asking the court to declare that Catalano is a fiduciary of the ERISA funds and enter judgment in favor of in the amount of $127,354.13, which is owed for the ERISA funds. The plaintiffs also seek several hundred thousand dollars for other allegedly delinquent contributions. William T. Josem and Jeremy E. Meyer of Cleary, Josem and Trigiani LLP of Philadelphia will represent the plaintiffs.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:16-cv-00014-JHS