Board of Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern…
Board of Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v. Margin Construction, Inc.
- Thompson
- 3:22-cv-00462
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Board of Trustees v. Margin Construction, Judge Thompson ordered Margin and Marquez to explain why contempt and monetary sanctions should not be imposed.
Margin Construction, Inc. and Miguel Angel Marquez were ordered to respond to the court’s order to show cause; the plaintiffs were required to provide them with the order and confirm delivery.
What happened
In Board of Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v. Margin Construction, Inc., the plaintiffs said Margin had not followed an earlier court order requiring it to produce audit documents and pay $4,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs. They asked the court to consider civil contempt and $2,800 in additional fees.
Margin did not file an opposition by the June 22, 2023 deadline. The plaintiffs also sought contempt against Miguel Angel Marquez, Margin’s CEO and president, but the court said they had not fully addressed the requirements for holding a non-party in contempt.
Judge Thompson granted the plaintiffs’ request for an order to show cause. The court ordered Margin to explain by October 12, 2023, why civil contempt and monetary sanctions should not be imposed, and said it would consider responses from Margin and Marquez at a hearing. The order did not itself impose contempt or sanctions.
The detailed version
- Board of Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern… · No. 3:22-cv-00462
- Thompson
- Sept. 28, 2023
Background
On June 8, 2023, the plaintiffs moved for an order to show cause. They asked the court to require Margin Construction, Inc. (Margin) and its CEO and president, Miguel Angel Marquez, to explain why they should not be held in civil contempt. The plaintiffs also asked for $2,800 in monetary sanctions for attorneys’ fees incurred in bringing the motion.
The plaintiffs supported the motion with evidence that Margin had not complied with an earlier court order granting a stipulation for judgment. That order required Margin to produce certain audit documents and pay the plaintiffs $4,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs. The court noted that the plaintiffs had not fully addressed the requirements for holding Marquez, who was not a party to the case, in contempt.
Order
Margin’s opposition was due June 22, 2023, but no opposition was filed. The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for an order to show cause. It ordered Margin to show cause no later than October 12, 2023, why civil contempt and monetary sanctions should not be imposed. Any response had to be supported by admissible evidence.
The court stated that it would consider any response filed by Margin and Marquez at a hearing. The opinion lists that hearing as scheduled for February 13, 2023, a date that precedes the September 28, 2023 order. The court also ordered the plaintiffs’ counsel to provide the order to Margin and Marquez within 24 hours and file a declaration confirming delivery within two days. The order did not impose contempt or monetary sanctions at that time.
Judge
Judge Trina L. Thompson issued the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.