Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca10-89-04142/USCOURTS-ca10-89-04142-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 

---

I 

FI LED 

United States Court of Appeals 

Tenth Circuit 

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 

TENTH CIRCUIT 

APR 19 1991 

ROBER L. OECKER 

lerk 

SPECTRA SONICS AVIATION, INC., a ) 

Utah corporation, ) 

) 

Plaintiff-Appellant, ) 

) 

and ) 

) 

WILLIAM G. DILLEY, doing business } 

as Spectra Sonics, ) 

) 

Plaintiff, ) 

) 

vs. ) 

) 

OGDEN CITY; OGDEN CITY CORPORATION, } 

) 

Defendants-Appel lee, ) 

) 

and ) 

) 

OGDEN MUNICIPAL AIRPORT ADVISORY } 

COMMITTEE; LEONARD PETER, individually ) 

and as Manager of the Ogden Municipal ) 

Airport; COWLES MALLORY, individually ) 

and as Ogden City Manager; TIMOTHY ) 

BLACKBURN, individually and as Deputy ) 

City Attorney for the City of Ogden; ) 

K. D. MILLER, and JOHN DOES I through X,) 

) 

Defendants. ) 

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* 

No. 89-4142 

(D.C. No. NC-83-218W) 

(D. Utah) 

Before HOLLOWAY, Chief Judge, LOGAN, Circuit Judge, and BRETT, 

District Judge.** 

* This order and judgment has no precedential value and shall not 

be cited, or used by any court within the Tenth Circuit, except for 

purposes of establishing the doctrines of the law of the case, 

res judicata, or collateral estoppel. 10th Cir. R. 36.3. 

** The Honorable Thomas R. Brett, United States District Judge for 

the Northern District of Oklahoma, sitting by designation. 

Appellate Case: 89-4142 Document: 010110034246 Date Filed: 04/19/1991 Page: 1 
.. 

This is an appeal of the trial court's refusal to cite the 

defendant for civil contempt regarding conduct after the suit was 

filed; the original substantive claims having been concluded by 

court order and judgment or settlement. Following a review of the 

record and the trial court's memorandum decision and order 

( including Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to 

Fed.R.Civ.P. 52) of October 27, 1989, we affirm. For appeal 

purposes, the court also concludes it has jurisdiction to hear only 

the appeal of Plaintiff-Appellant Spectra Sonics Aviation, Inc., 

and not the plaintiff below William G. Dilley, d/b/a Spectra Sonics 

because said latter plaintiff was not named as a party in the 

notice of appeal. Torres v. Oakland Scavenger Co., 487 U.S. 312, 

314 (1988). The use of the phrase "et al." is insufficient under 

Fed.R.App.P. 3(c) to provide notice of the identity of the 

appellants. Id. at 318. "[A] litigant's failure to clear a 

jurisdictional hurdle can never be 'harmless' or waived by a 

court." Id. at 317 n. 3. See also, Concorde Resources, Inc. v. 

Crabtree v. Muchmore, 904 F.2d 1475 (10th Cir. 1990); and Barnett 

Woolsey (In re Woolsey), 855 F.2d 687, 688 (10th Cir. 1988); L... 

Petro-Tex Chemical Corporation, 893 F. 2d 800, 805 ( 5th Cir.), cert. 

denied, U.S. 110 S . Ct . 3 2 7 4 ( 19 9 0 ) . In the present 

appeal, plaintiff Spectra Sonics Aviation, Inc. is the only party 

named as an "appellant" in the notice of appeal. 

The original complaint in this case was filed in 1983 by 

Spectra Sonics Aviation, Inc., a Utah corporation (hereafter 

"Spectra Sonics") and William G. Dilley, d/b/a Spectra Sonics 

-2-

Appellate Case: 89-4142 Document: 010110034246 Date Filed: 04/19/1991 Page: 2 
.. 

asserting federal antitrust and civil rights claims against various 

defendants. on April 25, 1985 the parties entered into a 

stipulation to resolve ongoing operational problems at the Odgen 

Municipal Airport and thus allow plaintiffs to do business pending 

determination of the underlying lawsuit. The parties' stipulation 

was approved and became effective as ordered by the trial court 

June 17, 1985. 

The antitrust claims were resolved by the trial court's grant 

of summary judgment against Spectra Sonics and in favor of Ogden 

City and Ogden City Corporation (hereinafter "Ogden City") on March 

22, 1988. The remaining civil rights claims were resolved shortly 

before trial by the parties' settlement and release of claims 

supported by mutual consideration which was ultimately approved and 

enforced by the trial court's Findings of Fact and Order of 

Dismissal with Prejudice dated November 2, 1988. 

The parties' general release disposed of all claims between 

the parties previous to July 15, 1988 and then expressly reserved 

Spectra Sonics' claim relating to "that conduct particularly 

described by the plaintiffs in their contempt motion pending when 

informal settlement was reached in July 1988." A four-day trial to 

the court was held on December 30, 1988 and January 3, 4 and 5, 

1989 in which fourteen witnesses were presented and one hundred and 

forty-two exhibits received in evidence. On October 27, 1989 the 

trial court entered its extensive memorandum decision and order, 

including Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to 

Fed.R.Civ.P. 52, denying Spectra Sonics' motion to cite Odgen City 

-3-

Appellate Case: 89-4142 Document: 010110034246 Date Filed: 04/19/1991 Page: 3 
for civil contempt. 

The primary purpose of a civil contempt citation is to 

compensate for losses sustained by one party due to another party's 

disobedience of a court order and to compel future compliance with 

court orders. In contrast, the primary purpose of a criminal 

contempt sentence is to punish the defiance of a court's judicial 

authority through a fine or imprisonment. 

Hospital & Training, Etc., 622 F.2d 

Ager v. Jane C. Stormont 

496 (10th Cir. 1980); 

Shillitani v. United States, 384 U.S. 364 (1966). It is apparent 

that any alleged contempt involved herein is civil contempt. 

To prevail on its pending contempt motion Spectra Sonics had 

the burden of proof in the trial court by clear and convincing 

evidence that Ogden City had failed to comply with the Court's 

order of June 17, 1985. United States v. Professional Air Traffic 

Controllers, 703 F.2d 443, 445 (10th Cir. 1983); Heinold Hog 

Market, Inc. v. McCoy, 700 F.2d 611, 614-15 (10th Cir. 1983). A 

defendant may be absolved from a finding of civil contempt if the 

defendant is able to show that it complied with a reasonable 

interpretation of the stipulation and order and if the defendant's 

action appears to be based on a good faith and reasonable 

interpretation of the order. McComb v. Jacksonville Paper co., 336 

U.S. 187 (1949); Vertex Distributing v. Falcon Foam Plastics, Inc., 

689 F.2d 885 (9th Cir. 1982). Also, it is a defense to a claim of 

civil contempt if the Defendant takes all reasonable steps and 

substantially complies with the court order. General Signal Corp. 

v. Donallco, Inc., 787 F.2d 1376, 1379 (9th Cir. 1986). 

-4-

Appellate Case: 89-4142 Document: 010110034246 Date Filed: 04/19/1991 Page: 4 
Even if the movant meets its burden of proof, the type, 

character and extent of relief available is within the trial 

court's discretion. Yanish v. Barber, 232 F.2d 939, 944 (9th Cir. 

1956) . The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Allied 

Materials Corp. v. Superior Products Co., 620 F.2d 224, 227 (10th 

Cir. 1980), states that a compensatory fine in a civil contempt 

suit must be based upon evidence of the complainant's actual loss 

(citing United States v. United Mine Workers, 330 U.S. 258, 304 

(1947)), and the reasonableness of costs claimed. 

This court has reviewed the trial court's extensive Findings 

of Fact 1 through 18, inclusive, found at pages 13 through 23 of 

the trial court's Memorandum Decision and Order of October 27, 

1989, denying Spectra Sonics' motion for citation of civil 

contempt. The record before this court supports the findings of 

the trial court and it therefore cannot be said the trial court's 

findings are clearly erroneous. United States v. Professional Air 

Traffic Controllers, 703 F.2d 443 (10th Cir. 1983), and Heinold Hog 

Market, Inc. v. McCoy, 700 F.2d 611 (10th Cir. 1983). The trial 

court's denial of Spectra Sonics' motion for civil contempt 

citation is therefore AFFIRMED. 

Ogden City's request of an award of reasonable costs and 

attorney fees incurred defending this appeal is DENIED. The 

parties shall bear their own costs and attorney fees regarding the 

appeal. 

-5-

Entered for the Court 

Thomas R. Brett 

United States District Judge, sitting by designation. 

Appellate Case: 89-4142 Document: 010110034246 Date Filed: 04/19/1991 Page: 5