Judge orders trustee to restore losses to Louis & Riparetti Retirement Plan in Scotts Valley, Calif.

Date of Action: March 20, 2014

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name(s) of Defendant: Louis & Riparetti Inc., Darrel Louis, and the Louis & Riparetti Retirement Plan

Allegations: The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit on April 10, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to recover unremitted employee contributions, uncollected employer contributions, and associated lost opportunity costs for the Louis & Riparetti Inc. Retirement Plan.  

Louis & Riparetti, Inc. was located in Scotts Valley, Calif. It ceased operations after filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on April 2, 2010.

The department’s suit alleged that Louis & Riparetti, Inc., the plan administrator, and Darrel Louis, the company’s owner and plan’s trustee, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by failing to remit employee contributions to the retirement plan and by failing to collect mandatory prevailing-wage employer contributions owed to the plan.

Resolution: In the consent judgment and order entered by Judge Jon S. Tigar, defendant Darrel Louis agreed to make restitution to the plan in the amount of $163,676 plus interest in installments. Upon completion of all payments, Darrel Louis will be permanently enjoined and restrained from future service as a fiduciary of, or service provider to, any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan. The consent judgment allows the department to force sale of Darrel Louis’s properties for the benefit of the plan and further requires him to name the plan as a beneficiary of his $1 million life insurance policy until all losses have been restored to the plan.

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of California

Docket Number: 3:12-cv-01770-JST

Employers and workers can reach EBSA toll free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems relating to private sector retirement and health plans. Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755.