Plaintiff Board of Trustees of the Ken Lusby Clerks & Lumber Handlers Pension Fund (the “Board”) filed this action to recover a $1,660,266 withdrawal liability assessment imposed by ERISA when Defendant Piedmont Lumber & Mill Company (“Piedmont”) withdrew from participation in the Ken Lusby Clerks & Lumber Handlers Pension Plan (the “Plan”). The Defendants in this action are Piedmont, William Myer, Jr., and Wendy Oliver, each of whom the Board alleges are jointly and severally liable for the withdrawal liability assessment.
Pending before the Court is the Board’s Motion for Summary Judgment against all Defendants. See Dkt. No. 101 (“Mot.”). The Court has carefully considered the arguments and evidence offered by the parties, both in their written submissions to the Court and during the hearing on this motion. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The Ken Lusby Clerks & Lumber Handlers Pension Fund (the “Fund”) provides retirement benefits for employees on whose behalf employers make contributions. The parties do not dispute that Piedmont participated as an employer in the Fund until it terminated its operations and liquidated its assets in 2010. Shortly after Piedmont closed, the Board determined that its closure constituted a complete withdrawal from the Fund and, on November 29, 2010, sent a notice and demand letter for payment of a $1,660,266 withdrawal assessment. Strauss Deck, Ex. 66. The letter was directed to Piedmont and “each person and entity under common control with it” and set forth a payment schedule for the assessment. Id. The Board sent another demand in January of 2011, id., Exh. 68, and — after failing to receive Piedmont’s first scheduled payment — an overdue notice the following month, id., Exh. 69. While Piedmont’s attorney signed for several of these letters, id., Exh. 67, 70, Piedmont never requested review of its withdrawal liability or initiated arbitration, and no part of the withdrawal liability has been paid to date.
At all times relevant to this action, Piedmont was jointly owned by Myer, its President and CEO, and Oliver, Myer’s sister, as trustee of the Oliver Family Trust. See SAC ¶¶ 9-10; Dkt. No. 66 ¶¶ 9-10. Myer arranged for the purchase of a property located at 2845 South Main Street in Lake-port, California (the “Lakeport Property”), see Dkt. No. 108 (“Opp.”) at 7, which was also jointly owned by Myer and Oliver as trustee of the Oliver Family Trust at all times relevant to this action, see Strauss Deck, Exhs. 23-24. Beginning by no later than 2005 and continuing through the termination of Piedmont’s operations, the Lakeport Property was rented to Piedmont and other commercial tenants. See Strauss Deck, Exh. 5 (Deposition of Edward P. Smith) at 41:10-17 (testimony from the Chief Financial Officer of Piedmont stating that the company paid $1,500
II. LEGAL STANDARD
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a), “the court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Material facts are those that may affect the outcome of the case. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,
The moving party must inform the district court of the basis for its motion and identify those portions of the pleadings, depositions, interrogatory answers, admissions and affidavits, if any, that it contends demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,
“Where the determination of whether an activity constitutes a trade or business under 29 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(1) is ultimately a question of the characterization of a group of undisputed facts, it is properly resolved by summary judgment.” Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers v. Tractor Equip. Sales, No. 12-cv-01056-WHO,
III. DISCUSSION
Pension plans like the Fund are federally regulated under ERISA, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. The MPPAA, 29 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq., amended ERISA to allow pension plans “to impose proportional liability on withdrawing employers for the unfunded vested benefit obligations of multiemployer plans.” Carpenters Pension Trust Fund for N. California v. Underground Const. Co., Inc.,
This “withdrawal liability” is assessed against the withdrawing “employer,” a term which includes not only the entity obligated to contribute to the pension plan, but also all “trades or businesses” that are under “common control” with that entity. See 29 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(1). Congress enacted section 1301(b)(1) “to prevent businesses from shirking their ERISA obligations by fractionalizing operations into many separate entities.” Teamsters Pension Trust Fund-Bd. of Trustees of W. Conference v. Allyn Transp. Co.,
There is no dispute that Piedmont and Myer, neither of whom opposed the Board’s motion for summary judgment, are liable for the withdrawal assessment. Oliver opposes summary judgment against her on three grounds: (1) the leasing ac
A. Piedmont and the Lakeport Property were Under Common Control
Oliver asserts that the Board cannot prevail on summary judgment because it has not produced admissible evidence demonstrating that Myer and the Oliver Family Trust exercised common control over both Piedmont and the Lakeport Property. Opp. at 18-20. Common control for purposes of Section 1301(b) is defined in 26 C.F.R. 1.414(c)-2 and 1.414(c)-4. See 29 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(1) (“The regulations' prescribed [to determine common control] shall be consistent and coextensive with regulations prescribed for similar purposes by the Secretary of the Treasury under section 414(c) of Title 26.”). Common control requires that the same group of people or organizations (1) own a controlling interest in each business alleged to be under common control, and (2) accounting only for identical ownership, the same group of people or organizations are in effective control of each business alleged to be under common control. 26 C.F.R. 1.414(c)-2(a), (c). Section 1.414(c)-2(a) defines common control as “any group of trades or businesses which is ... a ‘brother-sister group of trades or businesses under common control’ as defined in paragraph (c) of this section.” Section 1.414(c)-2(c) defines a brother-sister group as “two or more organizations conducting trades or businesses if (i) the same five or fewer persons who are individuals, estates, or trusts own (directly and with the application of § 1.414(e)^4) a controlling interest in each organization, and (ii) taking into account the ownership of each such person only to the extent such ownership is identical with respect to each such organization, such persons are in effective control of each organization.”
The Board has produced numerous documents' and deposition testimony demonstrating that Oliver and Myer’s complete ownership of both Piedmont and the Lake-port Property satisfy this standard. Oliver has objected to the vast majority of this evidence as unauthenticated or hearsay. However, the Court need not reach these evidentiary objections because the ownership of both Piedmont and the Lake-port Property are established through Oliver’s own admissions and uncontested public records.
As to the Lakeport Property, Oliver does not appear to contest that Myer and the Oliver Family Trust own the Lakeport Property, which Myer purchased with assets inherited from their mother’s trust. Opp. at 7. Lake County records — to which Oliver has not objected — confirm that Myer and the Oliver Family Trust are the owners of that property. See Strauss Deck, Exh. 23 (Lake County Assessor Inquiry listing William Myer, Jr. and Wendy M. Oliver Trustee as the owners of the Lakeport property); id., Exh. 24 (Deed of Real Property conferring title to the Lake-port Property to Myer and Oliver as trustee of the Oliver Family Trust).
Oliver’s opposition does contest that summary judgment is warranted as to the Oliver Family Trust’s ownership of Piedmont. See Opp. at 5-7 (arguing that the
Accordingly, the Court finds that there is no material dispute of fact that Myer and Oliver (as trustee of the Oliver Family Trust) owned and commonly controlled both the Lakeport Property and Piedmont.
B. The Lakeport Property is a Trade or Business
ERISA does not define the term “trade or business” as it is used in Section 1301(b)(1). See Lafrenz,
Oliver argues that the Court should determine whether the Lakeport Property constitutes a trade or business by applying the test articulated in Commissioner v. Groetzinger,
The Ninth Circuit has not followed suit. In Lafrenz — decided shortly after Groet-zinger — the court conducted a trade or business analysis without reference to Groetzinger. See
Here, the evidence shows that Myer and the Oliver Family trust leased the Lakeport Property to Piedmont from 2005 through 2010, receiving over $120,000 in rent. Wood Report at Exh. C; see also Strauss Deck, Exh. 5 (Deposition of Edward P. Smith) at 41:10-17 (Piedmont paid $1,500 in rent per month for its subsidiary’s use of the Lakeport Property). There is no basis for distinguishing this case from Lafrenz or the numerous other cases that have found property leases between two commonly controlled entities to constitute a trade or business under section 1301(b)(1). See Lafrenz,
Oliver’s argument that her involvement with the Lakeport Property was minimal does not preclude a finding that its leasing activities constituted a “trade or business.” For example, the defendants in Lafrenz leased only two trucks back to the withdrawing employer, while the defendant in Lindquist leased a single commercial property and testified that someone else “took care of all operations at the property” and that he “spent less than [five] hours per year” dealing with it. Lindquist,
Accordingly, the commonly controlled Lakeport Property leasing operation poses exactly the type of “fractionalization threat” that section 1301(b)(1) was designed to address.
C. Oliver is Individually Liable for the Withdrawal Assessment
Finally, Oliver argues that she may not be held individually liable for the withdrawal assessment because the Board has not demonstrated that the alter-ego theory of liability can be applied to a trust or that Oliver failed to follow the formalities required to pierce the corporate veil. Opp. at 21. Oliver’s opposition misses the salient legal issue. Oliver has conceded— both in her pleadings and in her responses to the Board’s Interrogatories — that the Oliver Family Trust is a revocable trust and that Oliver is the grantor and sole beneficiary. See Dkt. No. 18 ¶ 32; Dkt. No. 66 ¶ 40; Strauss Decl., Exh. 91 at 5 (“The [Oliver Family Trust] is a revocable trust. Wendy M. Oliver is the grantor and sole beneficiary of the trust.”). Revocable trusts, unlike corporations (to which the alter-ego and veil piercing doctrines apply), are not legal entities. Galdjie v. Darwish,
Accordingly, the Board need not establish alter-ego liability or pierce the corporate veil for Oliver to be held individually liable. Instead, “[t]here is no distinction in California law between property owned by the revocable trust and property owned by the settlor of such a revocable trust during the lifetime of the settlor.” Carolina Cas. Ins. Co. v. L.M. Ross Law Grp., LLP,
D. Damages
The Board seeks an award of (1) the unpaid withdrawal liability; (2) interest on the unpaid withdrawal liability; (3) liquidated damages; and (4) attorneys’ fees and costs. The Court agrees with the Board that it is entitled to these categories of damages. Title 29 U.S.C. § 1451 provides that, “[i]n any action under this section to compel an employer to pay withdrawal liability, any failure of the employer to make any withdrawal liability payment within the time prescribed shall be treated in the same manner as a delinquent contribution (within the meaning of section 1145 of this title).” 29 U.S.C. § 1451(b). In actions involving delinquent contributions pursuant to section 1145, the following damages are to be awarded: unpaid contributions, interest on the unpaid contributions, liquidated damages as provided by the plan (not to exceed 20% of the unpaid contributions), and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. See id. § 1132(g)(2); see also Bd. of Trustees of Carpenter Trust Fund for N. California v. JKJ, Inc., No. 09-cv-0636-PJH,
Oliver does not contest that the Board is entitled to these categories of damages in the amount requested by the Board should it prevail on its claims. Accordingly, the Court finds that the Board is entitled to (1) the withdrawal assessment of $1,660,266; (2) prejudgment interest of $545.84 per day beginning from January 28, 2011 and ending on the date of final judgment; (3) liquidated damages in an amount equal to the amount payable as prejudgment interest; and (4) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS the Board’s Motion for Summary Judgment against Piedmont, Myer, and Oliver. Piedmont, Myer, and Oliver are jointly and severally liable for the amounts described in Section III.D of this order. The Board must submit a motion for reimbursement of its reasonable attorney’s fees and costs no later than 21 days from the date of this order. The clerk is
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Notes
. The Court overrules Oliver's blanket objection to the authenticity of the letters sent by the Board notifying Piedmont of the withdrawal assessment. Under Federal Rule of Evidence 904(b)(4), a document may be authenticated based on its "appearance, contents, substance, internal patterns, or other distinctive characteristics ... taken together with all the circumstances.” The Court finds that the contents of the letters and their production from Piedmont's own files during discovery provide a sufficient basis for authentication under Rule 904(b)(4).
. The Court overrules Oliver's objection to the excerpts from Edward Smith's deposition, which were lodged on the ground that the Board failed to append the court reporter's certification. Opp. at 23. The Court notes that Oliver herself filed that certification in connection with her opposition to the Board's motion. Dkt. No. 110-1 at 7. Accordingly, to the extent the absence of that certification presented an obstacle to the consideration of Mr. Smith's testimony, that obstacle was removed by Oliver’s filing. See Orr v. Bank of Am., NT & SA,
. The Court overrules Oliver’s objection that these documents are unauthenticated. All seven documents were produced by Oliver’s agent during discovery, which is sufficient authentication when offered against Oliver given the absence of adverse interests between Oliver and her agent. See Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd.,
.The Court overrules Oliver’s objection to the Wood Report's compilation of the rental income paid by Piedmont for use of the Lake-port Property. The table upon which the Board relies for the $127,125 figure was computed from amounts contained in a document produced by Oliver in this litigation. See Wood Report at Exh. C (citing document bates labeled WO 00003.2-54); Dkt. No. 117 (Reply Declaration of Sean Strauss), Exh. 81 (Register Report of Lakeport Property). Accordingly, Mr. Wood’s calculations were based on admissible evidence. See, e.g., Maljack Prods., Inc. v. GoodTimes Home Video Corp.,
. All objections to evidence not considered in this opinion are overruled as moot, as the challenged evidence did not form the basis of the Court’s opinion.
. Oliver has identified no authority suggesting that her individual liability (or the Board’s access to the funds held in the Oliver Family Trust's name) is affected by whether her children are also beneficiaries of the Oliver Family Trust. Opp. at 21. The California Probate Code suggests the Court’s analysis would be
