Sheet Metal Company Can Dispute Amount It Owes Benefit Plans

Benefit funds for sheet metal workers weren’t entitled to summary judgment concerning the amount they were owed by an employer just because it failed to keep accurate records, the Fourth Circuit said Thursday.

Stromberg Metal Works Inc. can still challenge the accuracy and reasonableness of the funds’ computation, Judge Robert B. King said for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

The funds said that Stromberg violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by underpaying contributions it owed them pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. The alleged delinquency related to temporary workers it hired through staffing agencies between ...