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. Accelerated Engineering Services, Inc.
- 3:22-cv-04374
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
Board of Trustees v. Accelerated Engineering Services: the court granted an order to show cause against Accelerated and denied it without prejudice against Schneider.
The ruling directly affected Accelerated Engineering Services, Inc., which was ordered to show cause regarding possible civil-contempt sanctions, and Sierra Elizabeth Schneider, as to whom the motion was denied without prejudice. It also affected the plaintiffs, who were required to provide notice of the order.
What happened
In Board of Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern California v. Accelerated Engineering Services, Inc., the plaintiffs asked the court to require Accelerated and Sierra Elizabeth Schneider to explain why they should not be held in civil contempt and ordered to pay $1,400 in sanctions. The request followed Accelerated’s alleged failure to produce documents required by an earlier default-judgment order.
The court found that the plaintiffs provided enough support to issue an order to show cause against Accelerated. But the plaintiffs had not shown enough to hold Schneider, who was not a party, responsible for helping violate the order. The court therefore denied the request as to Schneider without prejudice.
The court ordered Accelerated to show cause by November 6, 2023, why civil-contempt sanctions should not be imposed. The court will consider Accelerated’s response at a March 5, 2024 hearing. The order was issued by the court on October 24, 2023.
The detailed version
- Board of Trustees of the Laborers Health and Welfare Trust Fund for Northern… · No. 3:22-cv-04374
- Oct. 25, 2023
Background
On July 10, 2023, the plaintiffs moved for an order to show cause. An order to show cause requires a party to explain why the court should not take a proposed action. Here, the proposed actions were civil-contempt proceedings against Accelerated Engineering Services, Inc. (identified in the opinion as “Accelerated”) and Sierra Elizabeth Schneider, who the plaintiffs alleged was Accelerated’s chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and secretary. The plaintiffs also sought $1,400 in monetary sanctions for the fees incurred in bringing the motion.
The motion relied on evidence that Accelerated had not produced documents in response to the court’s April 13, 2023 order granting default judgment. The opinion does not state that the court imposed contempt sanctions at this stage.
Analysis
The court concluded that the plaintiffs supported an order to show cause as to Accelerated. For Schneider, however, the court said the plaintiffs had not fully addressed the requirements for holding a non-party in civil contempt. Although Schneider had been served with the April 13 order, the plaintiffs had not shown that she helped Accelerated violate it. The court identified evidence that could be relevant to that issue, including evidence that Schneider was an officer during the relevant period and controlled Accelerated’s compliance with the order.
Ruling
The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for an order to show cause as to Accelerated and denied the motion without prejudice as to Schneider. Accelerated was required to show cause no later than November 6, 2023, why civil-contempt sanctions should not be imposed. Any response had to be supported by admissible evidence. The court stated that it would consider Accelerated’s response at a hearing scheduled for March 5, 2024. Plaintiffs’ counsel was ordered to provide the order to Accelerated and Schneider within one business day after filing and to file a declaration confirming service within two days afterward.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.