PITTSBURGH — United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International trustees are suing grocery store owners for alleged failure to make pension plan payments.
William J. Dillner, Jr. and Anthony M. Helfer, trustees of the UFCW, Local 23 and Employers Pension Fund, filed a lawsuit on Feb. 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against Fezell Enterprises Inc., doing business as Dubois Shop N Save; Fezell Enterprises II Inc.; Fezell Enterprises III Inc.; Fezell Enterprises IV Inc.; Fezell Enterprises V Inc.; Fezell Enterprises VI Inc.; and Fezell Enterprises VII Inc., citing violation of the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1980 (MPPAA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
According to the complaint, Dillner and Helfer are the chief administrators and named fiduciaries of a pension fund to which the defendants are bound. The plaintiffs claim that the defendants withdrew money from the fund on Oct. 25, 2010, requiring a monthly payment of $4,551.
The defendants paid the monthly fee from January 2011 until September 2015, when they allegedly failed to make the monthly withdrawal liability payment. The plaintiffs report that they notified the defendants on Oct. 5, 2015, but have yet to receive any payments since August 2015.
Dillner and Helfer seek judgment in the amount of $1,827,182, interest, liquidated damages, counsel fees and expenses. They are represented by Jason Mettley and Jason M. Yarbrough of Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Case number 3:16-cv-00056-KRG