Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store Corp.
- Lewis Liman
- 1:22-cv-04422
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store, Judge Liman continued $500 weekday contempt fines against Kevin Reyes and allowed a possible renewed arrest request.
Kevin Reyes is subject to continuing monetary contempt sanctions of $500 per weekday for noncompliance with the court’s order. Pablo Ramon Rodriguez may renew a request for an arrest order if Reyes remains out of compliance by May 12, 2024. New Generation Hardware Store Corp. was part of the underlying default judgment, but this order’s contempt findings and sanctions concern Reyes.
What happened
In Pablo Ramon Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store Corp., Rodriguez obtained a $567,406.80 judgment for back wages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and interest after the defendants failed to appear. The judgment remained unpaid, and Kevin Reyes did not answer a subpoena seeking information about collecting it or comply with a later court order requiring him to respond.
The court had already found Reyes in civil contempt, meaning he had disobeyed a clear court order without adequately trying to comply. Reyes did not attend the April 24, 2024 hearing, even though he had been notified of the proceedings, possible sanctions, and his right to a lawyer.
Judge Lewis J. Liman decided not to increase the $500 fine imposed for each weekday of noncompliance. The fines will continue, and Rodriguez may renew his request for an order directing Reyes’s arrest if Reyes remains out of compliance by May 12, 2024, subject to required service and further court review.
The detailed version
- Rodriguez v. New Generation Hardware Store Corp. · No. 1:22-cv-04422
- Lewis Liman
- Apr. 24, 2024
Background
Pablo Ramon Rodriguez brought claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law. New Generation Hardware Store Corp. and Kevin Reyes were properly served but did not appear. On February 3, 2023, the court entered a default judgment against both defendants for back wages, attorneys’ fees and costs, and prejudgment interest totaling $567,406.80. The defendants did not pay the judgment.
Rodriguez then served Reyes with an information subpoena seeking information relevant to collecting the judgment. Reyes did not respond. On January 22, 2024, the court ordered Reyes to respond within two weeks of receiving the order and warned that noncompliance could result in contempt sanctions. Rodriguez served the order, but Reyes still did not respond. Rodriguez moved for contempt.
Prior contempt proceedings
On March 21, 2024, the court found that the requirements for civil contempt had been met. The court determined that its January 22 order was clear and unambiguous, that the evidence of noncompliance was clear and convincing, and that there was no evidence Reyes had diligently attempted to comply in a reasonable manner.
At an April 2, 2024 hearing, the court ordered Reyes to pay $500 for every weekday he remained out of compliance, beginning April 12, 2024. The court also scheduled the April 24 hearing to consider whether the sanction should be increased. Reyes did not attend either the April 2 hearing or the April 24 hearing.
Court’s analysis
The court explained that federal courts may use civil contempt to enforce lawful orders and subpoenas. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45(g) permits the issuing court to hold in contempt a person who was served with a subpoena and, without an adequate excuse, failed to obey it. Federal law also permits sanctions for disobeying a court order.
The court further determined that due process requirements were satisfied. Reyes had been served with the contempt motion, the order requiring him to show why he should not be held in contempt, and the March 21 and April 2 orders. Those materials notified him that he was the subject of contempt proceedings, that sanctions were possible, and that he had a right to be heard and to have counsel. The April 2 order also stated that counsel could be appointed if he demonstrated that he could not afford an attorney.
Ruling
Judge Lewis J. Liman did not increase the $500-per-weekday monetary sanction. The court ordered that the monetary contempt sanctions would continue to accrue at $500 per weekday.
If Reyes failed to comply with the court’s directives by May 12, 2024, Rodriguez could renew his request for a court order directing Reyes’s arrest. The court did not order Reyes’s arrest in this memorandum and order. It stated that, if Rodriguez renewed the request, the court would consider the threatened harm, the likely effectiveness of arrest or another sanction, and Reyes’s financial resources before deciding whether arrest was appropriate and no greater than necessary to compel compliance.
The court also ordered Rodriguez to serve this order on Reyes by specified delivery methods by April 26, 2024, and to file proof of service.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.