Montana Retail Store Employees Health and Welfare Plan v. C&S Jones Group LLC, 2:23-cv-01342

Plaintiffs, including the Montana Retail Store Employees Health and Welfare Plan, are seeking unpaid employee benefit contributions from Defendant C&S Jones Group LLC under ERISA.
C&S Jones entered a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) requiring monthly contributions to the Trust for covered employees.
A payroll audit from January 1, 2018, to May 31, 2022, found $60,621.98 in unpaid contributions, with additional liquidated damages and interest.
C&S Jones failed to respond to the audit, pay the delinquent sums, or appear in the litigation despite proper service.
Plaintiffs moved for default judgment after the court entered default due to defendant’s lack of response; total amount sought was $104,386.97 including attorneys' fees and costs.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether default judgment should be granted	No response from C&S; Eitel factors favor default	None	Default judgment granted for Plaintiffs
Entitlement to unpaid contributions and related sums	ERISA & CBA require these payments	None	Plaintiffs entitled to all requested amounts
Reasonableness and support of damages sought	Damages calculations are clear, supported by documentation	None	Amount sought is proportional, evidence sufficient
Jurisdiction (subject matter and personal)	ERISA grants jurisdiction; service proper	None	Court has jurisdiction over claims and party

Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089 (9th Cir. 1980) (outlining discretion for entry of default judgment)
Eitel v. McCool, 782 F.2d 1470 (9th Cir. 1986) (establishing seven factors for default judgment)
TeleVideo Sys., Inc. v. Heidenthal, 826 F.2d 915 (9th Cir. 1987) (well-pleaded facts are taken as true on default)
Geddes v. United Fin. Grp., 559 F.2d 557 (9th Cir. 1977) (requiring damages to be proved even by defaulted party)
Cripps v. Life Ins. Co. of N. America, 980 F.2d 1261 (9th Cir. 1992) (supporting ERISA jurisdiction and sufficiency of default pleadings)