Hanfords Creations, LLC v. Chagaris

Filing 148

ORDER granting 147 Motion for Leave to Appear for Defendant to Appear and Answer Concerning his Property. It is ORDERED that a hearing is scheduled for 4/10/2018 at 2:00 PM in the Grand Jury Suite, 401 W Trade St, Charlot te, NC 28202. The Clerk designates Erica Petri, Staff Attorney as the hearing officer. Plaintiff is directed to file detailed brief by 5:00 PM, 3/16/2018. Defendant is thereafter directed to file a detailed response brief by 5:00 PM, 3/30/2018. Signed by Clerk, Frank G. Johns (tmg)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
DOCKET NO. 3:09-cv-00487-MOC-DCK
K.A. HOLDINGS LTD. OF NEW YORK,
a/k/a K.A. Holdings of New York, Inc.,
a/k/a K.A. Holdings of New York, Ltd.,
a/k/a K.A. Holdings, Ltd.,
Plaintiff/Judgment Creditor,

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vs.
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CHRISTOPHER CHAGARIS,
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Defendant/Judgment Debtor.
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____________________________________)

ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Clerk of Court on Plaintiff’s “Motion for Defendant to
Appear and Answer Concerning his Property Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 69 & N.C.G.S. § 1-352.”
(Doc. 147).
A review of the record reflects that on September 30, 2013, Judgment was entered in this
matter in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendant in the total amount of $793,568.45. (Docs. 120
& 131).

On December 18, 2014, following an unsuccessful appeal to the Fourth Circuit,

Defendant, as the Judgment Debtor, filed a notice to set aside certain statutorily exempt property
from execution of the Judgment, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1C-1603. (Doc. 140). Plaintiff, as
the Judgment Creditor, thereafter filed a Motion for Final Execution wherein it agreed to set aside
the exempt property claimed by Defendant from execution of the Judgment. (Doc. 141).
By Order dated April 23, 2015, the Court directed the Clerk to issue a Final Execution for
the Collection of the Judgment in this case. (Doc. 142). In that Order, the Court found “that the
Judgment is the sum total of $793,568.45, plus interest at the highest legal rate and costs excluding
Judgment Debtor’s Exempt Property.” Id.

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In accordance with the Court’s April 23, 2015 Order, the Clerk issued a Writ of Execution
on July 16, 2015, in the total amount of $935,323.70, consisting of the original judgment amount
of $793,568.45, plus $141,755.25 in interest then accrued at the 10% statutory legal rate. (Doc.
143). The Writ of Execution was subsequently served on Defendant by the U.S. Marshal’s Service
and returned unsatisfied.
In the instant motion, Plaintiff alleges that it served Defendant with interrogatories pursuant
to Fed. R. Civ. P. 69 and N.C.G.S. § 1-352.1 on November 20, 2015, and that Defendant “failed
to answer many of the Interrogatories concerning his property and income.” (Doc. 147). As a
result, Plaintiff now requests that Defendant be required “to appear before the Court and answer
concerning his property,” pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 69 and N.C.G.S. § 1-352. Id.
In federal court, a money judgment is typically enforced by a writ of execution, as was
issued in this case. See Rule 69(a)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. In this regard, Rule 69 of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure provides that “[t]he procedure on execution—and in proceedings
supplementary to and in aid of judgment or execution—must accord with the procedures of the
state where the court is located, but a federal statute governs to the extent it applies.” Rule 69(a)(1),
Fed. R. Civ. P. As pertinent here, Rule 69 goes on to provide that “[i]n aid of the judgment or
execution, the judgment creditor . . . may obtain discovery from any person—including the
judgment debtor—as provided in these rules or by the procedure of the state where the court is
located.” Rule 69(a)(2). Fed. R. Civ. P.
Turning next to the applicable state execution of judgment procedures, N.C. Gen. Stat. §
1-352 provides as follows:
When an execution against property of a judgment debtor . . . is
returned wholly or partially unsatisfied, the judgment creditor at any
time after the return, and within three years from the time of issuing
the execution, is entitled to an order from the court to which the
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execution is returned or from the judge thereof, requiring such
debtor to appear and answer concerning his property before such
court or judge, at a time and place specified in the order, within the
county to which the execution was issued.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-352. Consistent with this state statute, Plaintiff filed the instant “Motion for
Defendant to Appear and Answer Concerning his Property” within three years from the issuance
of the Writ of Execution in this case.
In light of these statutory provisions, and for good cause shown,
It is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiff’s “Motion for Defendant to Appear and Answer
Concerning his Property Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 69 & N.C.G.S. § 1-352” is GRANTED.
Accordingly, it is further ORDERED that a hearing is SCHEDULED in this matter for
2:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 10, 2018, in the Grand Jury Suite located on the second floor of the
Charles R. Jonas Federal Courthouse, 401 West Trade Street, Charlotte, N.C.
It is further ORDERED that the Clerk hereby DESIGNATES Erica Petri, Staff Attorney
with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, as the hearing officer to
conduct the hearing in this matter.
It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff is DIRECTED to file a detailed brief by 5:00 p.m.,
Friday, March 16, 2018, addressing, inter alia, (i) the current status of this case, including any
efforts taken by the parties to consult with one another and resolve or limit the areas of
disagreement in accordance with Local Civil Rule 7.1(b); (ii) the discovery efforts taken by
Plaintiff in aid of execution of the Judgment thus far and a general summary of the information
obtained as a result therefrom, and (iii) the specific relief requested by Plaintiff in this supplemental
proceeding, including references to any applicable statutory provisions and legal authority, as well
as the specific additional information and discovery sought to be obtained from Defendant in this

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case. Defendant is thereafter DIRECTED to file a detailed response brief by 5:00 p.m., Friday,
March 30, 2018.1
The Clerk’s Office is directed to provide a copy of this Order to all counsel of record and
to Erica Petri as the Hearing Officer Designee.

Signed: February 26, 2018

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The parties, of course, must be sensitive to and comply with Rule 5.2 of the Federal Rules
of Civil Procedure with respect to the inclusion of any personal identifiers and/or financial account
information in their respective briefs.
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