Employment Law – ERISA – Delinquent Contributions

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case No.: 15-1269

Case Name: Mid-Central Illinois Regional v. Con-Tech Carpentry, LLC

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and POSNER and EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judges

Pertinent Practice Areas: Employment Law – ERISA – Delinquent Contributions

Defendant-Respondent failure to respond to pleadings results in default judgment. Judge did not abuse discretion.

“Con-Tech filed a Rule 60(b) motion on January 15. The motion also invoked Rule 55(c), but too late. Con-Tech told the district judge that it had not ignored the suit but had instead started negotiating with plaintiffs’ lawyers, seeking a satisfactory settlement. The judge replied that Con-Tech may not have ignored the plaintiffs’ demands, but that it had ignored the litigation. The judge observed that it is impossible to handle a suit in which a litigant unilaterally decides to march to the beat of its own drum. A defendant can both file an answer and try to negotiate a settlement; doing the latter does not eliminate the need to do the former. The judge denied the Rule 60(b) motion, and Con-Tech appealed.”

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.