Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Northern Star Hospitality, Inc.

Filing 285

ORDER on 262 Motion for Finding of Contempt filed by Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Defendants are to obtain appraisals of all real and personal property using an appraiser approved by plaintiff. Plaintiff is to advise defendants of at least two appraisers by September 2, 2015. Defendants are to supplement discovery, including information on new bank accounts, provide a complete answer to interrogatory No. 4, provide a proposed payment schedule if they are unable to make the full payment, provide supplemental information as discussed at the in-court conference and look into the possibility of borrowing money to fulfill their obligation to the EEOC. Signed by District Judge Barbara B. Crabb on 8/26/2015. (jls)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
COMMISSION,
OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff,
12-cv-214-bbc
v.
NORTHERN STAR HOSPITALITY d/b/a
SPARX RESTAURANT; NORTHERN
STAR PROPERTIES, LLC; AND
NORTH BROADWAY HOLDINGS, INC.,
Defendants.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A hearing was held on August 26, 2015 on plaintiff Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission’s motion to compel and the court’s order of civil contempt.

Jessica Palmer-

Denig and Laurie Vasichek appeared for plaintiff. Michael Schwartz appeared on behalf of
defendants Northern Star Hospitality d/b/a Sparx Restaurant, Northern Star Properties and
North Broadway Holdings, Inc.
Plaintiff filed for an order of civil contempt on July 27, 2015, contending that
defendant North Broadway Holdings, Inc. had failed to provide discovery in compliance
with the court’s orders. This court entered a premature order of civil contempt on July 28,
2015, dkt. #266, which was vacated on August 7, 2015, dkt. #272, and the matter set on
for hearing.

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At today’s hearing, Mr. Schwartz attempted to explain why defendants North Star
Properties, LLC, and North Broadway Holdings, Inc., believed that they had complied with
the court’s orders to provide the information sought by plaintiff in its attempt to collect the
judgement entered against defendants in this court on February 25, 2014. The amount of
the judgment was $64,795.50, dkt. #223, and it was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for
the Seventh Circuit on January 20, 2015 dkt. #237. In fact, defendants had been dragging
their feet in complying with the orders; for months their counsel had told plaintiff that the
necessary financial information was in the hands of the tax preparers, without making any
apparent attempt to obtain copies of the information from the preparers. In addition, they
had changed bank accounts after the court granted plaintiff’s motion to garnish Peoples
State Bank, where defendant Holdings had an account. Defendants had been asked for a
detailed description about defendants’ real or personal property owned by them in the
preceding four years whose value exceeds $500, together with the loan balance against the
property, if any, and the location, including the county, and if the property was transferred,
the name, address and telephone number of the person or entity, but defendants had not
complied with this request.
Because defendants’ counsel appeared willing to comply with plaintiff’s discovery
requests, I directed plaintiff’s counsel to confer with defendants’ counsel and develop an
agreed upon resolution of defendants’ obligation to plaintiff. After doing so, the parties
agreed to the following:
No later than 4:00 p.m. on September 28, 2015, both sides are to submit written

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statements to the court on the status of the following commitments by the parties:
1. Defendants are to obtain appraisals of all property, real and personal, owned by
either defendant Properties or defendant Holdings, using an appraiser approved by plaintiff;
plaintiff has until noon on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, in which to advise defendant’s
counsel of at least two approved appraisers. In addition, if no purchase price information
is available for any particular item after a diligent search for such information has proved
ineffectual, defendants shall file a statement under oath attesting to its effort.
2. Defendants are to supplement discovery in a timely manner, including providing
information about new bank accounts as they are opened.
3. Defendants are to
(a) provide a complete answer to plaintiff’s interrogatory no. 4; if they have questions
about the scope of any portion of the interrogatory, defendants’ counsel is to consult
plaintiff’s counsel;
(b) provide plaintiff a proposed payment schedule if they continue to maintain that
they are unable to make full payment of the judgment at this time; and
(c) provide any supplemental information agreed to in counsel’s in-court conference
with plaintiff’s counsel this morning.
5. Defendants’ counsel has agreed to talk with Chris Brekken and other potential
lenders to assess the possibility of lending money to defendants to fulfill their obligation to

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the EEOC.

Entered this 26th day of August, 2015.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
BARBARA B. CRABB
District Judge

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