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Hawai''i Laborers'' Trust Funds v. Maui Prince Hotel6/18/1996
OPINION OF THE COURT BY RAMIL, J.
We are called upon to determine whether the Hawai'i State Mechanic's and Materialman's Lien Law, in collecting delinquent trust fund contributions, is preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Specifically, we are faced with the question of whether Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 507-42 (1993) may be used to effectuate the judgment of a federal district court, in order to recover delinquent ERISA contributions due the Hawai'i Laborers' Trust Fund (HLTF) on behalf of laborers who performed labor and improvements on the subject lien property. We hold that HRS § 507-42 is not preempted by ERISA and, accordingly, HRS § 507-42 may be used by trust funds to collect delinquent trust fund contributions.
I. BACKGROUND
This action arises out of the construction of the Makena and Wailea golf courses, which are owned by defendants-appellees Maui Prince Hotel Corporation and Wailea Resort Company, Ltd. (collectively, "Owners") respectively. For both projects, defendant-appellee Greenscape, Ltd., ("General Contractor") was the general contractor; and on both projects, General Contractor subcontracted with defendant-appellee Hunnicutt International, Inc. ("Subcontractor") to provide landscape and construction work for the golf courses. On both of these projects, labor was furnished by members of the Laborers' International Union of North America, Local 368, AFL-CIO ("Union"). Subcontractor contracted with Union for work to be performed on each of the projects. As part of their agreement, Subcontractor executed and delivered to Union certain labor agreements covering landscape and construction laborers in the State of Hawai'i. Under these agreements, Subcontractor promised to make certain contributions to the HLTF for each hour of work performed by the laborers.
The dispute in this action arose when Subcontractor, who paid the laborers for their work, failed to make the agreed upon contributions to the laborers' ERISA trust fund as required by the labor agreements.
Upon completion of the projects, HLTF instituted civil actions against Subcontractor in the United States District Court for the District of Hawai'i (Case No. 92-00590 DAE and Civil No. 92-00463 HMF), to recover the unpaid trust fund contributions. On October 14, 1992, a default judgment was entered in favor of HLTF and against Subcontractor, in the amount of $39,076.56, for Subcontractor's failure to answer or otherwise plead.
Upon receiving this favorable judgment from the federal district court, HLTF proceeded to enforce the judgment against Owners in the Second Circuit Court of the State of Hawai'i. Although Owners were not parties to the labor agreement between HLTF and Subcontractor, HLTF asserted that, under HRS § 507-42 (1993), Owners were liable for Subcontractor's failure to pay the trust fund contributions because labor and improvements were furnished on their property.
HLTF's action to enforce the federal court judgment in the circuit court consisted of two separate applications for mechanic's and materialman's liens in accordance with the provisions of HRS § 507-42. The lien actions were sought by HLTF to collect on the federal district court's judgment by attaching liens on Owners' real properties and improvements including both golf course projects. On April 21, 1993, an order directing a lien to attach was entered against both projects. On June 16, 1993, HLTF, asserting its right to foreclose on the liens that it had obtained, filed two separate actions to foreclose its mechanic's and materialm
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