Local Rule 83.5: Contempt

83.5 Contempt

(a) A proceeding to adjudicate a person in civil contempt of court, including a case provided for in Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b), shall be commenced by the service of a notice of motion or order to show cause.

The affidavit on which the notice of motion or order to show cause is based shall set out with particularity the misconduct complained of, the claim, if any, for resulting damages, and evidence as to the amount of damages that is available to the moving party. A reasonable attorney's fee, necessitated by the contempt proceeding, may be included as an item of damages. Where the alleged contemnor has appeared in the action by an attorney, the notice of motion or order to show cause and the papers on which it is based shall be served on the contemnor's attorney; otherwise service shall be made personally in the manner provided by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for the service of summons. If an order to show cause is sought, the order may, on necessity shown, embody a direction to the United States Marshal to arrest and hold the alleged contemnor on bail in an amount fixed by the order, conditioned upon appearance at the hearing and further conditioned upon the alleged contemnor's amenability to all orders of the Court for surrender.

(b) If the alleged contemnor puts in issue the alleged misconduct or the resulting damages, the alleged contemnor shall, on demand, be entitled to have oral evidence taken either before the Court or before a master whom the Court appoints. When by law the alleged contemnor is entitled to a trial by jury, the contemnor shall make a written demand on or before the return day or adjourned day of the application; otherwise the Court will deem that the alleged contemnor has waived a trial by jury.

(c) If the Court finds that the alleged contemnor is in contempt of the Court, the Court shall issue and enter an order 1. Reciting or referring to the verdict or findings of fact on which the adjudication is based;

2. Setting forth the amount of the damages to which the complainant is entitled;

3. Fixing the fine, if any, imposed by the Court, which fine shall include the damages found and naming the person to whom the fine shall be payable;

4. Stating any other conditions, the performance of which shall operate to purge the contempt;

5. Directing, in the Court's discretion, the Marshal to arrest and confine the contemnor until the performance of the condition fixed in the order and payment of the fine or until the contemnor is otherwise discharged pursuant to law. The order shall specify the place of confinement. No party shall be required to pay or to advance to the Marshal any expenses for the upkeep of the prisoner. On an order of contempt, no person shall be detained in prison by reason of the non-payment of the fine for a period exceeding six months. A certified copy of the order committing the contemnor shall be sufficient warrant to the Marshal for the arrest and confinement. The aggrieved party shall also have the same remedies against the property of the contemnor as if the order awarding the fine were a final judgment.

(d) If the alleged contemnor is found not guilty of the charges, the contemnor shall be discharged from the proceeding and, in the discretion of the Court, shall have judgment against the complainant for costs, disbursements and a reasonable attorney's fee.