Greater St. Louis Construction Laborers Welfare Fund et al v. Hilltop C&I, Inc.

Filing 23

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER... IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs' motion to compel post-judgment discovery is GRANTED. (Doc. No. 21 .) IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Thomas Hills, as an officer of Defendant Hilltop C&I, Inc., shall appear for a post-j udgment deposition and produce the records requested in the October 13, 2015 Notice of Deposition and Request for Production of Documents, at the offices of Plaintiffs counsel (Hammon and Shinners, P.C., 7730 Carondelet, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 6 3105) on Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall mail a copy of this Order to Defendant, Attn. Thomas Hills, at 1533 Hogan Street, St. Louis, MO 63106. Defendant and Thomas Hills are caution ed that failure to comply with this Order may result in civil contempt sanctions which may include incarceration of Thomas Hills. Signed by District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on 12/4/2015. (A copy of this Order was mailed to Defendant as directed.) (NEB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
GREATER ST. LOUIS
CONSTRUCTION LABORERS
WELFARE FUND, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
vs.
HILLTOP C&I, INC.,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 4:14CV00704 AGF

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ motion to compel post-judgment
discovery. Plaintiffs’ motion is accompanied by an affidavit of counsel and exhibits. For
the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant the motion.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiffs filed this action to collect delinquent fringe benefit contributions on behalf
of the Construction Laborers Benefit Funds pursuant to the Labor Management Relations
Act, 29 U.S.C. §185, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, 29 U.S.C. §1132.
On March 17, 2015, Clerk’s Entry of Default was entered as to Defendant Hilltop C&I,
Inc., and on March 23, 2015, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for default judgment in
the amount of $9,662.13.
The affidavit of Plaintiffs’ attorney Emily R. Perez asserts that Defendant has not
paid any of the judgment despite demand by Plaintiffs. On October 13, 2015, Plaintiffs
sent a Notice of Rule 69 Deposition and Request for Production of Documents to
Defendant, attention Thomas Hills. The Notice requested that Hills, as an officer of

Defendant, appear for a deposition pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69(a), at the
office of Plaintiffs’ counsel on November 11, 2015, at 10:00 a.m., and the simultaneous
production of certain documents relevant to Plaintiffs’ efforts to collect the judgment in
this case. Hills did not appear at the deposition or produce any of the requested
documents, nor did he contact Plaintiffs’ counsel with respect to the deposition notice.
DISCUSSION
Rule 69(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that proceedings in aid
of execution “shall be in accordance with the practice and procedure of the state in which
the district court is held . . . except that any statute of the United States governs to the extent
that it is applicable.” Id. Rule 69 further provides that in aid of a judgment or execution,
a judgment creditor “may obtain discovery from any person, including the judgment
debtor, in the manner provided in [the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure] or in the manner
provided by the practice of the state in which the district court is held.” Id. Here,
Plaintiffs seek to take a post-judgment deposition in aid of execution of their judgment, and
the production of relevant documents. This procedure is appropriate pursuant to Rule
69(a). See Credit Lyonnais, S.A. v. SGC Int’l, Inc., 160 F.3d 428, 431 (8th Cir. 1998).
The record shows that Hills, as the principal of Defendant, was properly noticed for
deposition but failed to appear. Plaintiffs’ motion to compel discovery should therefore
be granted, see id., and Hills will be ordered to appear for a deposition at the offices of
Plaintiffs’ counsel, and to produce the requested documents at the same time.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly,
2

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiffs’ motion to compel post-judgment
discovery is GRANTED. (Doc. No. 21.)
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Thomas Hills, as an officer of Defendant
Hilltop C&I, Inc., shall appear for a post-judgment deposition and produce the records
requested in the October 13, 2015 Notice of Deposition and Request for Production of
Documents, at the offices of Plaintiffs’ counsel (Hammon and Shinners, P.C., 7730
Carondelet, Suite 200, St. Louis, MO 63105) on Thursday, January 7, 2016, at 10:00
a.m.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court shall mail a copy of this
Order to Defendant, Attn. Thomas Hills, at 1533 Hogan Street, St. Louis, MO 63106.
Defendant and Thomas Hills are cautioned that failure to comply with this
Order may result in civil contempt sanctions which may include incarceration of
Thomas Hills.

________________________________
AUDREY G. FLEISSIG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 4th day of December, 2015.

3