Heriberto Guadalupe v. Chase Auto Finance Corp. and DEZBA Asset Recovery

Summary

The Eastern District of New York addresses sanctions for a nonparty's civil contempt arising from failure to comply with a subpoena for employment and payroll records. The court grants Chase's application, provides SET a final opportunity to comply, imposes a $500-per-day coercive sanction upon continued noncompliance, and awards reasonable attorneys' fees and costs subject to further submission. The court declines to address possible preclusion of lost-wage evidence as premature and beyond the scope of the application.

Holdings

1. A coercive monetary sanction of $500 per day was appropriate to secure SET's compliance with the subpoena and the court's orders, beginning after a final opportunity to purge the contempt and continuing until full compliance.
2. Chase was entitled to reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in connection with prosecuting SET's contempt because SET's disobedience was willful.
3. The court declined to preclude Plaintiff from introducing lost-wages evidence because that request was premature and was not properly before the court in the sanctions application against SET.

Questions Presented

1. What coercive sanction was appropriate for SET's continued civil contempt and failure to comply with the subpoena and court orders?
2. Whether Chase was entitled to compensatory reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in prosecuting the contempt motions.
3. Whether the court should preclude Plaintiff from introducing lost-wages evidence because of SET's noncompliance.

Disposition

other