 
Court Denies CBO Glass Officials' Motion to
Dismiss
July 6, 2012
by Penny Stacey, pstacey@glass.com
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland has denied
a motion made by two CBO Glass executives who requested
that the court dismiss a case against them, alleging "lack
of personal jurisdiction" in Maryland. The denial is the latest
in a case
filed against the company and its president and CEO, Gilbert DiMaio,
and principal, Paul F. Hogan, claiming that the company "failed
to pay amounts due under the Labor Contracts, Trust Agreements and
Plan."
While U.S. District judge Ellen Lipton Hollander writes that "it
appears to be undisputed that Mr. DiMaio and Mr. Hogan, who are
both New York residents, lack sufficient minimum contacts with Maryland
to be subject to personal jurisdiction here under ordinary principles
of personal jurisdiction," she points out that the case arises
under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). ERISA,
she writes, "authorizes exercise of personal jurisdiction in
the district where an employee benefits plan is administered …
on the basis of so-called 'national contacts.' "
Further, Hollander says that DiMaio and Hogan have argued that the
"plaintiffs do not adequately plead that the individual defendants
are 'fiduciaries,' so as to be subject to liability under ERISA
for the causes of action asserted … "
She suggests that the individuals should "properly" address
this argument by raising a motion to dismiss for failure to state
a claim or by motioning for summary judgment.
The original complaint alleges that in November 2011, CBO vice president
and CFO Lawrence Gildersleve signed a promissory note on behalf
of CBO and "agreed that the company owed the fund $319,650.42
in contributions, interest and liquidated damages for the period
of May 2011 through August 2011." The Fund alleges that CBO
defaulted on the note "by failing to submit the settlement
installments and by failing to submit remittance reports and contributions
for the period of December 2011 through February 2012."
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