American Modern Home Insurance Company v. Thomas et al

Filing 358

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that American Modern Home Insurance Company's Application for a Stay Pending Appeal and Approval of a Supersedeas Bond 352 is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that American Modern Home Insurance Com pany shall have until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, 2019, by which to file with the Clerk of Court a supersedeas bond in the amount of $1,073,274.78 that meets the requirements of Local Rule 13.03. No extensions of time will be granted. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that execution of the amended judgment entered August 22, 2019, is STAYED under Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(b), to be released automatically upon conclusion of the matter for which the bond is posted. Failure to timely file a supersedeas bond in the amount of $1,073,274.78 that meets the requirements of Local Rule 13.03 will result in the stay being lifted. (Response to Court due by 10/17/2019.) Signed by District Judge Catherine D. Perry on 09/26/2019. (TMT)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
AMERICAN MODERN HOME
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.
AARON THOMAS, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 4:16 CV 215 CDP

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
American Modern Home Insurance Company moves under Rule 62, Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, that execution of the amended judgment entered August
22, 2019, be stayed pending appeal.1 American Modern proffers posting a
supersedeas bond in the amount of $1,073,274.78 to secure the stay and asks that it
be granted twenty-one days from court approval to post the bond. Neither Aaron
nor Aimee Thomas have responded to American Modern’s motion, and the time to
do so has expired. I will grant the motion and stay execution of the amended
judgment. If American Modern fails to file an appropriate supersedeas bond
meeting the requirements of Local Rule 13.03 on or before October 17, 2019, I will
lift the stay.
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Although American Modern cites Rule 62(d) as authority to stay execution of judgment pending
appeal, Rule 62(d) deals with appeals from interlocutory orders or final judgments affecting
injunctions. Neither circumstance is present here.

“At any time after judgment is entered, a party may obtain a stay by providing
a bond or other security.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(b). The stay takes effect when the
court approves the bond and remains in effect for the time specified in the bond. Id.
“The district court may only stay execution of the judgment . . . if the court provides
for the security of the judgment creditor.” Peacock v. Thomas, 516 U.S. 349, 359
n.8 (1996). The decision to grant a stay is within the court’s discretion. Nunley v.
Ethel Hedgeman Lyle Acad., No. 4:08-CV-1664 CAS, 2010 WL 501465, at *1 (E.D.
Mo. Feb. 8, 2010). Whether to require a bond and in what amount is likewise
within the discretion of the court. Barfield v. Sho-Me Power Elec. Co-op., No.
2:11-CV-04321-NKL, 2015 WL 4159988, at *2 (W.D. Mo. July 9, 2015).
In its motion to stay, American Modern proposes to file a supersedeas bond in
the amount of $1,073,274.78, which it contends is sufficient to satisfy the total
amount of the amended judgment ($715,516.72), an approximate amount of
anticipated post-judgment interest ($1,859.27), and an additional amount of
additional attorney’s fees the Thomases could potentially recover if they were to
prevail on appeal (more than $350,000). American Modern avers that the
Thomases agree to the amount of the bond. I will approve the bond for the amount
proffered.
American Modern also proposes to file the supersedeas bond within
twenty-one days of my approval of the bond amount. While American Modern
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does not indicate whether the Thomases agree to this proposal, the time to object has
passed and the Thomases have filed no objections. I will therefore grant American
Modern’s request. American Modern shall have until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday,
October 17, 2019, by which to file with the Clerk of Court a supersedeas bond in the
amount of $1,073,274.78. The bond shall meet the requirements of Local Rule
13.03. Failure to timely file a supersedeas bond in the amount of $1,073,274.78
that meets the requirements of Local Rule 13.03 will result in the stay being lifted.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that American Modern Home Insurance
Company’s Application for a Stay Pending Appeal and Approval of a Supersedeas
Bond [352] is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that American Modern Home Insurance
Company shall have until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 17, 2019, by which to
file with the Clerk of Court a supersedeas bond in the amount of $1,073,274.78 that
meets the requirements of Local Rule 13.03. No extensions of time will be
granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that execution of the amended judgment
entered August 22, 2019, is STAYED under Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(b), to be released
automatically upon conclusion of the matter for which the bond is posted.
Failure to timely file a supersedeas bond in the amount of $1,073,274.78
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that meets the requirements of Local Rule 13.03 will result in the stay being
lifted.

____________________________
CATHERINE D. PERRY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated this 26th day of September, 2019.

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