Labor Department Scores Another 10th Cir. Win in Stock Plan Suit

A Utah construction company president failed to undo court orders removing him as trustee of the company’s stock plan when the Tenth Circuit upheld a default judgment and a permanent injunction favoring the Labor Department.

The district court properly entered a default judgment against defendants Ascent Construction Inc. and Bradley Knowlton based on their failure to timely respond to the department’s amended complaint and interrogatories, the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit said in an unpublished opinion issued Tuesday.

The district court reasonably concluded the defendants willfully disobeyed court orders and a less severe penalty wouldn’t be effective, ...