Court declares unremitted employee contributions owed to benefit plan of Clarks Summit company non-dischargeable after defendant’s bankruptcy

Date of Action: April 4, 2016

Name(s) of Defendant(s): Scott Louis Slocum; Dalton Mechanical SIMPLE IRA Plan

Allegations: Based on an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Secretary of Labor obtained a default judgment based on the following:

On Dec. 17, 2009, the department filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania alleging that the fiduciaries of the Dalton Mechanical SIMPLE IRA Plan, including Scott Louis Slocum and Dalton Mechanical, Inc., breached their statutory duties to the plan participants under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. From 2006 through 2009, the plan trustees specifically failed to ensure employee contributions were remitted to the plan as required by ERISA. The total amount due to the plan participants, including lost interest, was determined to be $41,093.44.  

Dalton Mechanical Services Inc. is a now defunct HVAC contractor formerly located in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.

On May 12, 2011, a consent judgment was entered. Slocum made payments to the plan initially as the judgment required, but fell into default subsequently with late and missed payments. The judgment also provided that if Slocum filed for bankruptcy prior to the full restitution to the plan, he would not oppose the Secretary of Labor having the debt to the plan declared non-dischargeable. On Aug. 24, 2015, Slocum filed chapter 7 bankruptcy, and the department filed the adversary action complaint in this matter on Dec. 1, 2015.  

Resolution: On April 4, 2016, the court entered a default judgment declaring Slocum’s debt to the plan non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. The total outstanding amount is $28,180.64.    

Court:  U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Docket Number: 5-15-bk-03590-JJT