Locals 302 and 612 of the International Union of Operating Engineers Construction Industry Health and Security Fund v. AEI Williams Group Co

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

LOCALS 302 AND 612 OF THE CASE NO. C19-0616JLR INTERNATIONAL UNION OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY HEALTH AND SECURITY FUND, et al., Plaintiffs, v. AEI WILLIAMS GROUP, CO., Defendant.

Pursuant to the court’s February 5, 2020, order to show cause, a contempt hearing is scheduled in this matter for March 17, 2020, at 10:00 AM. (See OSC (Dkt. # 17) at 6-7.) On March 6, 2020, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington issued General Order 01-20 entitled “In Re: Court Operations Under the Exigent Circumstances Created by COVID-19 and Related Coronavirus.” See General Order W.D. Wash. G.O. No. 01-20. Although General Order 01-20 states that “[a]ll civil and criminal matters scheduled for an in-Court appearance before any district or

magistrate judge in the Seattle or Tacoma Courthouses, including any associated deadlines, are CONTINUED pending further Order of the Court,” see id. at 2 ¶ 1, the General Order also allows for “[c]ase-by-case exceptions to the continuances provided herein . . . for non-jury matters,” see id. at 3 ¶ 4. Pursuant to General Order 01-20, the court continues the March 17, 2020, contempt hearing until April 6, 2020, at 1:30 PM. The court ORDERS Plaintiffs to

personally serve both AEI Williams Group, Co. and Elmore W. Williams III with a copy of this order no later than March 27, 2020, and to file proof of such service on the court’s docket. The court notes that AEI Williams Group, Co. and Mr. Williams did not file briefing in response to the court’s order to show cause. (See generally Dkt.) The court

warns AEI Williams Group, Co. and Mr. Williams that failure to appear at the April 6, 2020, hearing and show cause regarding their failure to comply with the court’s November 25, 2019, order will likely result in the court holding them in civil contempt. See Donovan v. Mazzola, 716 F.2d 1226, 1240 (9th Cir. 1983) (holding that where party moving for civil contempt sanctions meets its burden to prove that the non-moving party

has violated a court order, the non-moving party bears the burden to “show ‘categorically and in detail’ why [they are] unable to comply with the court’s previous order”) (quoting United States v. Rylander, 656 F.2d 1313, 1318 (9th Cir. 1981), rev’d on other grounds, 460 U.S. 752 (1983)). A finding of civil contempt can result in imposition of coercive sanctions against AEI Williams Group, Co. and Mr. Williams. See, e.g., Parsons v. Ryan, 949 F.3d 443, 456 (9th Cir. 2020) (affirming order imposing $1,445,000.00 civil

contempt sanction for defendants’ violation of a court’s order to show cause). Dated this 9th day of March, 2020. A United States District Judge