CAROLYN K. DELANEY, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff's petition to hold defendants in contempt of court came on regularly for hearing on September 9, 2015. Justin Rodriguez appeared for plaintiff. Wes Sage appeared for defendants. Upon review of the documents in support and opposition, upon hearing the arguments of counsel and the testimony of defendants Cory Kasinger and James Kasinger, and good cause appearing therefor, THE COURT FINDS AS FOLLOWS:
The parties attended a court supervised settlement conference in April, 2015. The parties entered into a written settlement agreement, settling the matter for $118,500. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, a first installment of $40,000 was to be delivered to plaintiff's counsel on June 26, 2015. The second and final installment of $78,500 was to be delivered to plaintiff's counsel on August 25, 2015. The settlement agreement was signed by defendants Cory Kasinger and James Kasinger on May 6, 2015.
Having received no payment on the first installment, plaintiff moved to compel compliance with the settlement agreement. By order filed July 31, 2015, defendants were ordered to make immediate payment of the first installment and were cautioned that failure to pay within three days would result in contempt proceedings. The court also ordered payment of $5,222.40 in attorneys' fees. To date, no sums have been paid to plaintiff under the terms of the settlement agreement nor have any attorneys' fees been paid.
Defendants have failed to comply with the court's order to pay the first installment required under the settlement agreement. Defendants' failure to comply with the order is considered to be an indirect contempt. Because plaintiff seeks compliance with the settlement, the procedures for indirect civil contempt are applicable to the instant petition.
The remaining issue is the appropriate sanction. Where the contempt consists of failure to perform an act with the contemnor's power to perform, he may be fined or imprisoned until he agrees to comply with the order. In determining the appropriate sanction in this matter, the court has considered the following factors: the harm from noncompliance, the probable effectiveness of the sanction, the contemnor's financial resources and the burden the sanctions may impose, and the contemnor's willfulness in disregarding the court's order.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
2. Attorneys' fees and costs incurred in connection with the instant petition are awarded to plaintiff against defendants in the amount of $1,259.90.
3. No later than close of business on September 15, 2015, defendants shall provide to plaintiff up to date financial documents regarding the year to date cash flow of defendant Mariah Resources, Inc., including, but not limited to, balance sheets, bank statements, accounts receivable, and other documents which can verify the testimony by defendant Cory Kasinger regarding the net cash flow and the percentages of net cash flow paid to the factoring company.
4. No later than September 18, 2015 at 2:00 p.m., defendants shall pay $40,000 to plaintiff pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement. Defendants shall also at that time pay the attorneys' fees previously awarded to plaintiff in the amount of $5,222.40 and the $1,259.90 awarded on the instant petition. If defendants fail to timely pay the sums due, plaintiff's counsel shall notify the undersigned's courtroom deputy.
5. No later than October 19, 2015 at 2:00 p.m., defendants shall pay $78,500 to plaintiff pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement. If defendants fail to timely pay the sum due, plaintiff's counsel shall notify the undersigned's courtroom deputy.
6. No later than October 19, 2015 at 2:00 p.m., defendants shall also pay interest on the unpaid sums due under the settlement agreement at the rate of ten percent (10%) per annum accruing as of the date of the breach and continuing thereafter until payment is made.
7. Defendants are cautioned that failure to comply with this order shall result in their immediate confinement until compliance is made.
8. Defendants' counsel is directed to personally serve a copy of this order on defendants and to file a statement of compliance no later than September 14, 2015 indicating that the order has been personally served on defendants.