The Second Circuit held that the owner of a contributing employer to multiemployer benefit plans breached his fiduciary duties by failing to make required contributions and was thus personally liable for the delinquencies, interest, and attorneys’ fees.  In so holding, the Court determined that the owner was a plan fiduciary because:  (a) the plan’s trust document designated required contributions as plan assets, (b) the owner was responsible for determining the order in which the company’s creditors would be paid, and (c) the owner had authority and control over management of the contributing employer.  As a fiduciary wrongly in possession of plan assets, the Court held that the owner was “personally liable to make good to such plan any losses to the plan.”  Notably, the Court also ruled that the owner was not obligated to pay liquidated damages because the owner was liable under a fiduciary breach claim, not a claim for delinquent contributions.  The case is Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 2, Albany, N.Y. Pension Fund v. Moulton Masonry & Const., LLC, No. 14-295, 2015 WL 795290 (2d Cir. Feb. 26, 2015).

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Photo of Anthony Cacace Anthony Cacace

Anthony S. Cacace is a partner in Proskauer’s Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. Anthony serves as legal counsel to the boards of trustees and other fiduciaries of Taft-Hartley multiemployer pension and welfare…

Anthony S. Cacace is a partner in Proskauer’s Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group. Anthony serves as legal counsel to the boards of trustees and other fiduciaries of Taft-Hartley multiemployer pension and welfare benefit plans subject to ERISA in a variety of industries. These include construction, transportation, private sanitation, trucking, industrial, health care and maritime.

Anthony’s representation of trustees and other fiduciaries ranges from counseling on the day-to-day operations of multiemployer funds, including:

  • drafting plan documents, amendments and procedures;
  • negotiating and drafting fund service provider agreements;
  • counseling with respect to participant claims; and
  • providing legal advice with respect to requirements of ERISA and the IRC.

His practice also includes more complex and high stakes scenarios, such as:

  • advising on fund mergers;
  • advising on fund acquisitions of real property;
  • drafting and submitting corrective applications to the IRS; and
  • counseling fiduciaries in investigations and audits by governmental agencies (including the U.S. DOL, U.S. DOJ and the IRS).

Anthony’s practice is unique because of his specialization in ERISA litigation. He advises trustees and fiduciaries from a litigation avoidance perspective, solving problems and rendering advice in risk exposure situations before they evolve into disputes or litigations. A skilled litigator, he often defends trustees and fiduciaries in lawsuits brought pursuant to ERISA, alleging claims for breaches of fiduciary duty, benefit claim denials, plan investment losses and improper plan amendments. In addition, he regularly represents his fund clients as plaintiffs in court, seeking to collect withdrawal liability and delinquent contributions from contributing employers.

Anthony is an accomplished author and speaker on issues confronting trustees of multiemployer funds. He has authored several articles featured in Bloomberg Law Reports and Benefits Magazine, and also serves as a chapter editor of the withdrawal liability section of the American Bar Association’s Employee Benefits Law treatise published by BNA. Anthony is routinely invited to speak at International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans conferences and the ABA Employee Benefits Committee mid-winter meetings.