Seattle Times Company v. LeatherCare, Inc.

Filing 353

ORDER granting in part and denying in part plaintiff's 348 Motion for Stay of Execution, or Alternatively, Clarification of the Judgment; granting Seattle Times and Steven Ritt's 352 Stipulated Motion to Stay Execution of Supplemental Judgment Entered on April 17, 2019. Signed by Judge Thomas S. Zilly. (SWT)

1
2
3
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

4
5
6

SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY,
Plaintiff,

7
v.
8
9
10
11

LEATHERCARE, INC.; STEVEN RITT;
and the marital community composed of
STEVEN RITT and LAURIE ROSENRITT,
Defendants/Third-Party
Plaintiffs,

C15-1901 TSZ

ORDER

v.
12
13

TOUCHSTONE SLU LLC; and
TB TS/RELP LLC,
Third-Party Defendants.

14
15

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on (i) a motion brought by plaintiff

16 Seattle Times Company (“Seattle Times”), docket no. 348, to stay execution of the
17 judgment entered August 15, 2018, docket no. 271, and a supplemental judgment entered
18 April 17, 2019, docket no. 337, or in the alternative to “clarify” the judgment, and (ii) a
19 motion stipulated by Seattle Times and defendant Steven Ritt, docket no. 352, to stay
20 execution of the supplemental judgment entered April 17, 2019, docket no. 337, and the
21 taxation of costs entered April 19, 2019, docket no. 338. Having reviewed all papers
22 filed in support of, and in opposition to, the motions, the Court enters the following order.
23
ORDER - 1

1 Discussion
2

On August 15, 2018, the Court entered judgment in favor of third-party defendants

3 and cross-claimants Touchstone SLU LLC and TB TS/RELP LLC (“Touchstone”) and
4 against Seattle Times in the amount of $3,377,093.44 on Touchstone’s breach of contract
5 claim premised on the Environmental Remediation and Indemnity Agreement (“ERIA”)
6 between the parties. See Judgment (docket no. 271). Judgment was also entered in favor
7 of Touchstone and against defendant LeatherCare, Inc. (“LeatherCare”) in the amount of
8 $3,580,676.85 on Touchstone’s claim under Washington’s Model Toxics Control Act
9 (“MTCA”). Id. The liability of Seattle Times and LeatherCare to Touchstone is several,
10 not joint, and Touchstone’s total recovery, including previous payments made by Seattle
11 Times totaling $4,783,434.17, may not exceed $8,364,111.02. Id. On April 17, 2019, the
12 Court entered supplemental judgment against Seattle Times as follows: (i) in favor of
13 Touchstone in the amount of $398,889.73 in attorney’s fees, and (ii) in favor of Mr. Ritt
14 and his marital community in the amount of $117,488.60 in attorney’s fees. See Supp.
15 Judgment (docket no. 337). On April 19, 2019, the Clerk taxed costs against Seattle
16 Times and in favor of Mr. Ritt and his marital community in the amount of $10,029.66.
17 Order (docket no. 338). The amounts owed by Seattle Times may be summarized as
18 follows:
19
20
21
22

Judgment Creditor
Basis for Judgment
Touchstone
Liability under the ERIA
Touchstone
Attorney’s Fees
Ritt & Marital Cmty.
Attorney’s Fees
Ritt & Marital Cmty.
Costs
Estimated Interest (2.44% per year for two years)
TOTAL

23
ORDER - 2

Judgment Amount
$3,377,093.44
$398,889.73
$117,488.60
$10,029.66
$190,490.87
$4,093,992.30

1

Seattle Times wishes to stay execution on the judgment, supplemental judgment,

2 and taxation of costs upon the posting of two bonds, one in the amount of $3,961,128.71
3 and the other in the amount of $133,741.16, for a total of $4,094,869.87. 1 Neither
4 Touchstone nor Mr. Ritt object to the proposed bond amounts, and the Court will approve
5 bonds in those amounts. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(b). The only issue of contention between
6 the parties is whether the Court should require Touchstone to execute on its judgment
7 against LeatherCare before seeking any additional funds from Seattle Times. Nothing in
8 the Order entered August 15, 2018, docket no. 270, or the related judgment, docket
9 no. 271, specify the sequence in which, or the party against whom, Touchstone may
10 execute on its judgment. In the absence of a remand pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
11 Procedure 62.1, the Court could not grant Seattle Times the relief it requests. Moreover,
12 the Court would not grant such motion even if the matter were remanded because the
13 August 2018 Order and judgment accurately reflect the Court’s view that Touchstone
14 may execute on its judgment in the manner it deems appropriate, so long as its total
15 recovery does not exceed $8,364,111.02.
16 Conclusion
17

For the foregoing reasons, the Court ORDERS:

18

(1)

Plaintiff’s motion, docket no. 348, for stay of execution or alternatively

19 “clarification” of the judgment, is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, as follows:
20
21

1

The difference between the aggregate bond amount proposed by Seattle Times and the total
judgment amount calculated by the Court appears to be a miscalculation by Seattle Times of the
22
post-judgment interest associated with the attorney’s fees due to Touchstone. See Pla.’s Mot. at
3 n.3 (docket no. 348) (stating two years of interest as $20,343.38, rather than $19,465.82).

23

ORDER - 3

1

(a)

Execution on the portion of the judgment entered August 15, 2018,

2

docket no. 271, in favor of Touchstone and against Seattle Times in the amount of

3

$3,377,093.44, and on the portion of the supplemental judgment entered April 17,

4

2019, docket no. 337, in favor of Touchstone and against Seattle Times in the
amount of $398,889.73 in attorney’s fees, is hereby STAYED provided that,

5
within twenty-one (21) days of the date of this Order, Seattle Times shall post a
6
bond in the amount of $3,961,128.71, which shall not expire sooner than twenty7

four (24) months from the date of its issuance.

8
9

(b)

To the extent Seattle Times seeks “clarification” or reconsideration

of the Order entered August 15, 2018, docket no. 270, or the related judgment,

10

docket no. 271, the motion is DENIED.

11

(2)

The stipulated motion, docket no. 352, brought by Seattle Times and

12 Mr. Ritt is GRANTED. Execution on the portion of the supplemental judgment entered
13

April 17, 2019, docket no. 337, in favor of Steven Ritt and his marital community and
against Seattle Times in the amount of $117,488.60 in attorney’s fees, and on the Clerk’s

14
taxation of costs, docket no. 338, in the amount of $10,029.66, is hereby STAYED
15
provided that, within twenty-one (21) days of the date of this Order, Seattle Times shall
16

post a bond in the amount of $133,741.16, which shall not expire sooner than twenty-four

17 (24) months from the date of its issuance.
18

(3)

19

IT IS SO ORDERED.

20

Dated this 25th day of September, 2019.

The Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Order to all counsel of record.

A

21
22

Thomas S. Zilly
United States District Judge

23
ORDER - 4