Ferguson v. Waid

Filing 131

ORDER directing Plaintiff to retrieve cashier's check from the Clerk's Office in Seattle no later than tomorrow and deliver these funds to Defendant immediately. Signed by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez. (SWT)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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SANDRA L. FERGUSON,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. C17-1685 RSM
ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO
RETRIEVE CASHIER’S CHECK AND
DELIVER FUNDS TO DEFENDANT

BRIAN J. WAID AND THE WAID
MARITAL COMMUNITY,
Defendants.
This matter comes before the Court on the Notice of Plaintiff’s Deposit of Rule 11

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Funds in Registry. Dkt. #130.

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On April 9, 2018, the Court issued an Order for Plaintiff Ferguson to “pay Defendant”

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$39,399 in attorney’s fees and $79 in costs. Dkt. #70. The Court did not provide a deadline.

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Later, on August 6, 2018, the Court set a deadline of September 5, 2018, for Ms. Ferguson to

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make payment and again ordered Ms. Ferguson to “pay Defendants.”

Dkt. #115.

On

September 24, 2018, the Court found Ms. Ferguson in contempt for failing to make this
payment, and ordered her to comply with the above previous Orders. Dkt. #129.
On September 25, 2018, Ms. Ferguson personally delivered a cashier’s check of
$39,478 to the Court’s Clerk’s Office. The Clerk’s Office initially took notice of this payment

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ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO RETRIEVE CASHIER’S CHECK AND DELIVER TO
DEFENDANT - 1

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and issued a receipt, which was recorded on the docket. However, once the undersigned

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became aware of this, the Court was able to stop the actual processing and deposit of these

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funds. The check remains in the Clerk’s Office.

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The Court did not expect to be receiving a cashier’s check, and was unaware of Ms.
Ferguson’s intentions until the following day, after Ms. Ferguson filed her Notice of Plaintiff’s
Deposit of Rule 11 Funds in Registry. See Dkt. #130 (filed at 10:51 P.M.). This Notice states

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“[w]e request that disbursement of the funds be made by the Clerk at the direction of the

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Court,” but also that “[w]e respectfully request that the Court consider deferring disbursement

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of the deposited funds until a consolidated appeal can be filed, after the trial approximately two
months hence.” Id.

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Ms. Ferguson has again failed to follow the Court’s prior Orders in a last ditch effort to

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evade responsibility and further prejudice Mr. Waid. The Court ordered payment be made to

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Mr. Waid, not to the Court. For the Court to disburse these funds now would cause a delay of

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approximately one month. While the Court would normally be amenable to receiving and

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disbursing funds, such a delay is unreasonable under the facts of this case. Accordingly, the

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Court hereby ORDERS Ms. Ferguson to retrieve her cashier’s check from the Clerk’s Office in

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Seattle no later than tomorrow and deliver these funds to Mr. Waid immediately. If Ms.

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Ferguson is able to do this, the Court will not fine her $100 a day for this additional delay.

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DATED this 26th day of September 2018.

A

RICARDO S. MARTINEZ
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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ORDER DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO RETRIEVE CASHIER’S CHECK AND DELIVER TO
DEFENDANT - 2