Erika R. Brown

UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In re
ERIKA R. BROWN,
Debtor.
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Case No. 06-00322
(Chapter 7)
DECISION RE FEES AND EXPENSES OF TRUSTEE ON CONTEMPT MOTION
The debtor has not challenged the reasonableness of the fees
and expenses sought by the trustee in pursuing his contempt
motion. 	Accordingly, a judgment follows for the recovery by the
trustee of those fees and expenses. 	The court is not ordering
payment within 10 days as was proposed by the trustee’s proposed
order. 	Because the contempt award is a compensatory award, the
judgment should be treated like any other judgment. 	Directing
payment within 10 days would improperly suggest that the debtor’s
failure to pay the award within 10 days could subject her to
further contempt proceedings, including coercive contempt
sanctions. 	With rare exceptions (which are inapplicable here),
compensatory judgments are, instead, collectible like any other
monetary judgment via execution process. 	See Patterson v.
America's Voice, Inc. (In re America's Voice, Inc.), 2000 WL
The decision below is signed as a decision of
the court.
Signed: May 22, 2007.
_____________________________
S. Martin Teel, Jr.
United States Bankruptcy Judge
Case 06-00322 Doc 215 Filed 05/22/07 Entered 05/22/07 13:28:04 Desc Main
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2	O:\Judge Temp Docs\Brown (Erika) decision re Fees of Trustee on Contempt Matter.wpd
33529764 (Bankr. D.D.C., Oct. 4, 2000).
However, in order to encourage payment, and consistent with
the trustee’s proposed order, interest will not run on the
judgment if the debtor makes full payment within 10 days after
entry of the same. 	In addition, the court notes that the
judgment does not address whether the trustee would be entitled
to surcharge the debtor’s exempt property to collect the debt,
and the judgment does not preclude that issue being raised later.
[Signed and dated above.]
Copies to: Debtor; Darrell W. Clark, Esq.; Office of U.S.
Trustee; Debtor; Albert Wilson, Jr., Esq.; Seth Robbins, Esq.;
Donald A. Workman, Esq; Roy Kaufmann, Esq.
Case 06-00322 Doc 215 Filed 05/22/07 Entered 05/22/07 13:28:04 Desc Main
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