Chicago Area I.B. of T. Health and Welfare Trust Fund v. Lurie Brothers LLC
United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division
October 24, 2019
CHICAGO AREA I. B. OF T. HEALTH AND WELFARE TRUST FUND, the CHICAGO AREA I.B. OF T. PENSION TRUST FUND, and the CHICAGO AREA I.B. OF T.SEVERANCE AND RETIREMENT FUND by and through their Trustees HOWARD C. MURDOCH, RONALD SANDACK, PATRICK BRUNO, and MICHAEL G. PHILIPP, Plaintiffs,
v.
LURIE BROTHERS LLC, JOHN DERNIS, ALEX DERNIS, SALVATORE CIMINO, and FRANK CIONE, Defendants.
Jeremy
M. Barr Jeremy M. Barr Attorney for the Plaintiffs.
PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR ENTRY OF JUDGMENT
Rebecca R. Pallmeyer, Judge.
Plaintiffs
the Chicago Area I.B. of T. Health and Welfare Trust Fund,
the Chicago Area I.B. of T. Pension Trust Fund
(“Pension Fund”), and the Chicago Area I.B. of T.
Severance and Retirement Fund (collectively,
“Funds”), by and through their Trustees Howard C.
Murdoch, Ronald Sandack, Patrick Bruno, and Michael G.
Philipp, and through their attorneys, Dowd, Bloch, Bennett,
Cervone, Auerbach & Yokich, respectfully move this Court
for entry of a judgment against Defendants Lurie Brothers LLC
(“Lurie Brothers”), John Dernis, Alex Dernis, and
Frank Cione. In support of this motion, the Funds state as
follows:
1. This is a two-count action under the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974. Count I seeks liability against
Defendants Lurie Brothers, John Dernis, Alex Dernis, and
Frank Cione[1]
for unpaid welfare, pension, and severance contributions plus
related interest, liquidated damages, and attorneys' fees
and costs. Count II seeks withdrawal liability plus related
interest, liquidated damages, and attorneys' fees and
costs from Lurie Brothers.
2. On September 16, 2019, the Court entered default against
Defendants Lurie Brothers, John Dernis, Alex Dernis, and
Frank Cione under Count I and against Lurie Brothers under
Count II. Notifications of Dkt. Entry [Doc. Nos. 31-32]. The
Court set the next hearing for October 31, 2019 and stated
that it will enter judgment on that date unless the parties
reach a settlement.
3. Counsel for the Funds instructed John Dernis that the
Defendants would need to submit a settlement proposal by
September 30, 2019 to ensure that the Funds' Trustees
would have sufficient time to consider and respond to the
settlement offer prior to the October 31, 2019 hearing. As of
the date this motion is filed, the Defendants have not
submitted any settlement offers following the September 16,
2019 hearing.
4. The amended complaint, the exhibits thereto, and the
declarations attached to this motion as Exhibits A and B
establish that the Funds are entitled to a judgement for the
following amounts:
Count
I
|
Severance
|
Welfare
|
Pension
|
Contributions (10/17, 5/18-3/19)
|
$3, 398.40
|
$23, 846.68
|
$33, 412.99
|
Credits (9/17-10/17)
|
($20.12)
|
($253.55)
|
($0)
|
Interest (9/17-3/19)
|
$365.04
|
$2, 573.56
|
$3, 638.60
|
Liquidated Damages (9/17-3/19)
|
$368.14
|
$2, 573.56
|
$3, 625.92
|
Attorneys' Fees
|
$8, 967.77
|
$8, 967.77
|
$8, 967.78
|
Total
|
$13, 079.23
|
$37, 708.02
|
$49, 645.29
|
Count
II
-
Withdrawal Liability
|
$175, 679.00
|
Liquidated Damages
|
$ 35, 135.80
|
Interest
|
$ 2, 424.60
|
Attorneys' Fees and Costs
|
$ 7, 431.46
|
Total
|
$220, 670.86
|
WHEREFORE,
for the reasons stated above, Plaintiffs respectfully move
this Court to enter judgment against Defendants Lurie
Brothers, Alex Dernis, John Dernis, and Frank Cione under
Count I and against Defendant Lurie Brothers under Count II
in the form of the proposed judgment order submitted to the
Court.
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