Avirgan v. Hull

125 F.R.D. 185, 13 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1065, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3153, 1989 WL 30229
District Court, S.D. Florida·Decided February 23, 1989·No. No. 86-1146-Civ·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION FOR STAY AND SETTING TERMS OF SUPERSEDEAS

JAMES LAWRENCE KING, Chief Judge.

Before the court is the movants’1 motion for a stay from execution of this court’s judgment dated February 2, 1989, 705 F.Supp. 1544. In that order the court ordered reimbursement of costs and fees to the defendants that totalled $1,034,361.36. The movants desire a stay without the posting of a supersedeas bond, or in the alternative, a stay with a posting of some alternative security. The defendants argue that a stay pending appeal should only be issued once the movants post a supersede-as bond in the full amount of the judgment. All parties have briefed the relevant issues in detail and made the necessary financial disclosures.

A literal reading of Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(d) indicates that a court can issue a stay pending appeal only when the judgment debtor posts a supersedeas bond. See Moore, J. and Jucas, J.D., 7 Moore’s Federal Practice, § 62.06 at 62-31 (2d ed. 1987). The only exceptions to this rule appear to be the special cases of Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(a), which are actions involving injunctions, receiverships or patent accountings.

Federal courts today generally follow Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(d) unless a case presents one of two rare instances. See Olympia Equipment Leasing Co. v. Western Union Telegraph Co., 786 F.2d 794 (7th Cir.1986). See also Federal Prescription Service, Inc. v. American Pharmaceutical Assoc., 636 F.2d 755 (D.C.Cir. 1980). In these two circumstances the posting of a bond to secure a stay pending appeal is inappropriate: (1) where the defendant’s ability to pay the judgment is so plain that the cost of the bond would be a waste of money, and, (2) where the requirement would put the defendant’s other creditors in undue jeopardy. Olympia Equipment, 786 F.2d at 796 (citing authority). In such a case, the district court may grant the stay without the posting of any security, or accept a form of alternative security. See Federal Prescription Service, Inc., 636 F.2d 755, 758 (D.C.Cir.1980); Poplar Grove Planting and Refining Co. v. Bache Halsey Stuart, Inc., 600 F.2d 1189, 1191 (5th Cir.1979).

The movants argue that this case is a similar rare instance, and ask the court to exercise its discretion under Fed.R.Civ.P. 62(d) to construct a derivative of the second circumstance.. In their motion for a stay, [187]*187the Christie Institute2 does not indicate its other creditors, but does reveal its precarious financial position. Lanny A. Simpkin, Assistant General Counsel of the Christie Institute, has stated in an affidavit that the Institute “does not have sufficient cash or other liquid assets at this , time to post a supersedeas bond in the amount of the sanctions.” Plaintiffs Exhibit A at p. 2. The affidavit further states that the Institute has $60,000.00 as a cash balance, and land holdings totalling $328,112.00. Id. The rest of the Institute’s assets appear to be computer equipment and anticipated donations from their fund raising efforts. Id. at 2-3. Accordingly, the movants maintain that their posting of a bond will render the Christie Institute insolvent and force the Institute to discontinue its operations. They, therefore, contend that this court should not force a bankruptcy allowing the movants either to post no security or alternative collateral.

Contrary to the movants’ argument, a prospective iiiability to pay a judgment must defeat the request for a stay without a bond. The court can only dispense with the requirement for a bond after the judgment debtor has “objectively demonstrated his ability to satisfy the judgment and maintain the same degree of solvency through the appellate process.” 7 Moore’s Federal Practice, § 62.06 at 62-34 (2d ed. 1987). The District of Columbia Circuit, therefore, has approved a district court’s dispensing of the bond posting requirement where a wealthy judgment debtor’s net worth was forty-seven times the amount of the judgment, and the debtor’s ability to respond was unquestioned. See Federal Prescription Service, Inc. v. American Pharmaceutical Assoc., 636 F.2d 755, 761 (D.C.Cir.1980); accord Northern Indiana Public Service Co. v. Carbon County Coal Co., 799 F.2d 265, 281 (7th Cir.1986).

Similarly, in order to obtain the posting of alternative security, the judgment debt- or must demonstrate a present financial ability to “facially respond to a money judgment and be willing to present to the court a financially secure plan for maintaining that same degree of solvency during the appeal.” See Poplar Grove Planting and Refining Co., Inc. v. Bache Halsey Stuart, Inc., 600 F.2d 1189, 1191 (5th Cir. 1979). For this reason, the Tenth Circuit affirmed a district court’s requirement of the posting of substitute collateral in a case similar to the one here. See Miami Intern. Realty Co. v. Paynter, 807 F.2d 871, 874 (10th Cir.1986). Paynter involved an attorney who faced a $2.1 million malpractice verdict. The attorney, who three days after the verdict drained his checking account and went to Las Vegas to gamble away $60,000.00, had no assets to secure the award. He requested a stay without posting a bond, contending that posting a bond would render him insolvent. The district court then ordered the attorney to deposit the proceeds of his malpractice insurance, which totalled about one-quarter of the judgment, into the court’s treasury in order to obtain a stay. Id. at 872-873. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court, finding that the security posted protected the judgment creditors and did not irreparably injure the judgment debtor. Id. at 873 (citing Texaco, Inc. v. Pennzoil Co., 784 F.2d 1133, 1154-1155 (2nd Cir. 1986)).

The movants’ admitted precarious financial condition, therefore, defeats their contention that this case is a rare instance where a bond is unnecessary or alternative collateral properly could be posted. The Institute’s financial statements and Mr. Simpkin’s affidavit reveal that the Institute will have difficulty maintaining the same state of solvency through the appellate process.

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Avirgan v. Hull, 125 F.R.D. 185, 13 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1065, 1989 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3153, 1989 WL 30229 (S.D. Fla. 1989).

125 F.R.D. 185 (Avirgan v. Hull) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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