Trustees of the Plumbers & Pipefitters Union Local 525 Health & Welfare Trust Plan v. Developers Surety & Indemnity Co.

OPINION

This case arises from a surety bond dispute involving union worker benefits. The district court denied the request of the union trustees (the Joint Trust) for attorney fees because the award would exceed the bond’s penal limit. The district court reasoned that our decision in Basic Refractories v. Bright2 precluded such recovery. The Joint Trust appeals, contending that Basic Refractories is distinguishable from the case at bar. We agree. In Basic Refractories, we determined that a surety could not be ordered to pay attorney fees that, in addition to the judgment, exceeded the bond…