Trustees of the IBEW-NECA Southwestern Health and Benefit Fund et al v. Rockey Electric Inc

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION
TRUSTEES OF THE IBEW-NECA
SOUTHWESTERN HEALTH AND
BENEFIT FUND, et al.,
§
§
§
§
Plaintiffs, 	§
§
v. 	§ 	CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:23-CV-0224-B
§
ROCKEY ELECTRIC, INC., 	§
§
Defendant. 	§
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Second Supplemental Brief in support of Default Judgment
(Doc. 26). Upon review of Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Brief and pursuant to the Court’s prior
Memorandum Opinion and Order granting default judgment (Doc. 25), the Court grants Plaintiffs
$9,797.22 in interest on unpaid contributions, $9,797.22 in an amount equal to interest on unpaid
contributions in lieu of liquidated damages, $9,000 in attorney’s fees, and $402 in court costs.
I.
BACKGROUND
On March 12, 2026, the Court granted default judgment for Plaintiffs against Defendant
Rockey Electric, Inc. (“Rockey”). See generally Doc. 25, Mem. Op. & Order. Specifically, the Court
found that default judgment was procedurally warranted, see id. at 5-6, and that there was a sufficient
basis for judgment in the pleadings, see id. at 6-7.
As damages, the Court awarded $9,822.50 in overdue, unpaid contributions and $3,400 in
audit fees. See id. at 15. The Court found that the relevant statutory authority, 29 U.S.C. 1132, also
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allowed Plaintiffs, as employee benefits plans, to recover interest, liquidated damages, attorney’s fees,
and court costs. See id. at 12-15. However, the Court declined to award those damages at that time
due to Plaintiffs’ failure to properly support the amounts claimed for each. See id. Nevertheless, the
Court permitted Plaintiffs to file a supplemental brief to provide such support. See id. at 16. Plaintiffs
then timely filed their Supplemental Brief. See generally Doc. 26, Suppl. Br.
II.
LEGAL STANDARD
Where employee benefits plans seek unpaid employer contributions, § 1132(g)(2) allows
them to recover (1) unpaid contributions, (2) interest on those unpaid contributions, (3) the greater
of liquidated damages as provided under the plan itself (not to exceed a 20% rate) or an amount
equal to the interest on the unpaid contributions, (4) reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and (5)
other relief the court deems appropriate. “[I]nterest on unpaid contributions shall be determined by
using the rate provided under the plan” if the plan specifies an interest rate. § 1132(g)(2).
III.
ANALYSIS
The Court awards $9,797.22 in interest, $9,797.22 in an additional amount equal to interest
in lieu of liquidated damages, $9,000 in attorney’s fees, and $402 in court costs.
A. Interest and Liquidated Damages
ERISA allows plans to recover interest on unpaid contributions, “determined by using the
rate provided under the plan” if it provides a rate. § 1132(g)(2). ERISA also allows plans to obtain
liquidated damages in an amount provided by the plan itself (but not exceeding 20%) or equal to
the interest on the unpaid contributions—the award must be the greater of the two figures. §
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1132(g)(2)(C). In their motion for default judgment, Plaintiffs asked the Court to apply an interest
rate of 1.5%, compounded monthly (resulting in an effective annual rate of 19.56%). See Doc. 22,
Mot., 2. Plaintiffs asked for liquidated damages at a flat rate of 15%.
In their supplemental brief, Plaintiffs attach each plan’s1 respective collection policy or trust
agreement, which set forth the plans’ interest and liquidated damages rates. See Doc. 26, Suppl. Br.,
2-5.
The Trustees of the NECA-IBEW Local Union No. 584 Pension Plan (“Pension Plan”)’s
collection policy sets forth a monthly, simple interest rate of 1.5% on unpaid contributions. See id.
at 2. It sets forth a liquidated damages rate of 20%. Id. The Court previously found $3,146.85 in
unpaid contributions owed to the Pension Plan. Doc. 25, Mem. Op. & Order, 11. Accordingly, the
Court awards the Pension Plan interest at the rate of 1.5% per month for 70 months until March
31, 2026, totaling $3,304.19. The Court awards that same amount in lieu of liquidated damages
because liquidated damages at the flat rate of 20% would equal only $629.37. See § 1132(g)(2)(C)
(Court must award as damages “an amount equal to the greater of” the interest on unpaid
contributions or liquidated damages as provided by the plan).
The Trustees of the NECA-IBEW Local Union No. 584 Profit Sharing Plan (“Profit Sharing
Plan”)’s collection policy contains the same simple interest and liquidated damages rates as the
Pension Plan. See Doc. 26, Suppl. Br., 3. The Court previously found $808.94 in unpaid
contributions owed to the Profit Sharing Plan. Doc. 25, Mem. Op. & Order, 11. Accordingly, the
Court awards the Profit Sharing Plan interest at the rate of 1.5% per month for 70 months until
1 Plaintiffs no longer seek interest and liquidated damages for the Training Committee Plan. See Doc. 26,
Suppl. Br., 6.
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March 31, 2026, totaling $849.39. The Court awards that same amount in lieu of liquidated
damages because liquidated damages at the flat rate of 20% would equal only $161.79. See §
1132(g)(2)(C) (Court must award as damages “an amount equal to the greater of” the interest on
unpaid contributions or liquidated damages as provided by the plan).
The Trustees of the IBEW-NECA Southwestern Health and Benefit Fund (“Health Benefits
Plan”)’s collections policy reflects a monthly, simple interest rate of 1.5% on unpaid contributions
and a flat 10% liquidated damages rate. Doc. 26, Suppl. Br., 4. The Court previously found
$4,919.80 in unpaid contributions owed to the Health Benefits Plan. Doc. 25, Mem. Op. & Order,
11-12. Accordingly, the Court awards the Health Benefits Plan interest at the rate of 1.5% per month
for 70 months until March 31, 2026, totaling $5,165.79. The Court awards that same amount in
lieu of liquidated damages because liquidated damages at a flat 10% rate would total only $491.98.
See § 1132(g)(2)(C) (Court must award, in addition to interest on unpaid contributions, “an amount
equal to the greater of” the interest on unpaid contributions or liquidated damages as provided by
the plan).
The Trustees of the National Electrical Benefit Fund (“NEBF Plan”)’s trust agreement
reflects an annual interest rate of 10% (0.833% compounded monthly) on unpaid contributions
and liquidated damages at the flat rate of 20%. See Doc. 26, Suppl. Br., 4-5. The Court previously
found $606.71 in unpaid contributions owed to the NEBF Plan. Doc. 25, Mem. Op. & Order, 11.
Accordingly, the Court awards the NEBF Plan interest at the annual rate of 10% (0.833%
compounded monthly) for 70 months until March 31, 2026, totaling $477.85. The Court awards
that same amount in lieu of liquidated damages because liquidated damages at a flat 20% rate would
total only $121.34. See § 1132(g)(2)(C) (Court must award, in addition to interest on unpaid
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contributions, “an amount equal to the greater of” the interest on unpaid contributions or
liquidated damages as provided by the plan).
In sum, the Court awards Plaintiffs $9,797.22 in interest and $9,797.22 in an amount equal
to interest.
B. 	Attorney’s Fees and Costs
ERISA also allows successful plaintiffs to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. See
§ 1132(g)(2)(D). “In determining the appropriate amount of attorney’s fees, a district court first must
calculate the ‘lodestar’ by ‘multiplying the reasonable number of hours expended on the case by the
reasonable hourly rates for the participating lawyers.’” Rodney v. Elliott Sec. Sols., LLC, 853 F. App’x
922, 924 (5th Cir. 2021) (quoting Migis v. Pearle Vision, Inc., 135 F.3d 1041, 1047 (5th Cir. 1998)).
“The calculation of reasonable hours requires a determination of whether the total number of hours
claimed were reasonable and whether specific hours claimed were reasonably expended.” Cardinal
Servs., Inc. v. Omega Protein, Inc., No. 00-1909, 2007 WL 1343266, at *1 (W.D. La. May 7, 2007)
(citation omitted). “Courts may exclude hours that are insufficiently documented and should not
award attorney’s fees unless the prevailing party presents sufficiently detailed records that the time
expended and the need for services are clearly established.” Id. (citing Bode v. United States, 919 F.2d
1044, 1047 (5th Cir. 1991)).
Plaintiffs seek $18,091.54 in attorney’s fees and $622 in costs. See Doc. 26, Suppl. Br., 7. In
support of the attorney’s fee award, Plaintiffs originally submitted the affidavit of their lead counsel,
Douglas M. Selwyn. See generally Doc. 22-3, Selwyn Aff. Mr. Selwyn has 40 years of experience in his
employee benefits law practice and has a billable rate of $443 per hour. Id. ¶ 6. Plaintiffs’ other
attorney seeking fees, Ashley L. Selwyn, has 12 years of experience in employee benefits law and has
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a billable rate of $343 per hour. Id. Initially, while the Court found that Plaintiffs’ counsel’s rates
were appropriate, Plaintiffs failed to indicate how many hours each attorney actually worked or what
the attorney was doing. Doc. 25, Mem. Op. & Order, 14-15.
Along with their Supplemental Brief, Plaintiffs provide a chart breaking down the hours
worked, who worked those hours, and what the hours accomplished. See generally Doc. 26-5, Suppl.
Br. Ex. 5. Upon review of the hours worked, the Court awards $9,000 in attorney’s fees. This
reduction from the amount sought is to preclude recovery for hours spent correcting deficiencies in
Plaintiffs’ first motion for default judgment (Doc. 10) and original complaint (Doc. 1). Due to
deficiencies in Plaintiffs’ original complaint and first motion for default judgment, the Court denied
the first motion for default judgment. See Doc. 12, Mem. Op. & Order, 10-11. Plaintiffs then, due
to their prior complaint’s deficiencies, spent additional hours drafting an amended complaint (Doc.
14) and second motion for default judgment (Doc. 10). Hours spent correcting deficiencies pointed
out by the Court are not “reasonable” and cannot be awarded. See Cardinal Servs., 2007 WL 1343266,
at *1. The reduction also reflects that some of the fees sought are connected with this Court’s show
cause orders and Plaintiffs’ responses; those hours can thus be attributed only to Plaintiffs’ own
delays in prosecuting this case. See, e.g., Docs. 13, 15, 21.
Plaintiffs, in their supplemental brief, break down the court costs sought as the original filing
fee, totaling $402, and service of process fees $220. While the Court awards Plaintiffs $402 in filing
fee costs, the Court declines to award service of process fees because Plaintiffs do not include any
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evidence of those costs and it is unclear whether the process server fees sought include costs of
serving the amended complaint—costs only incurred due to the original complaint’s deficiencies.
IV.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed above, and pursuant to its prior order granting default judgment
(Doc. 25), the Court GRANTS the following additional relief:
• GRANTS Plaintiffs’ request for interest on unpaid contributions, totaling $9,797.22;
• GRANTS Plaintiffs’ request for liquidated damages, awarding an amount equal to the
interest on unpaid contributions in lieu of liquidated damages, totaling $9,797.22;
• GRANTS Plaintiffs’ request for attorney’s fees, totaling $9,000; and
• GRANTS Plaintiffs’ request for court costs, totaling $402.
A final judgment will follow.
SO ORDERED.
SIGNED: March 19, 2026.
_________________________________
JANE J. BOYLE
SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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