Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 20SMCV00216, Date: 2025-04-08 Tentative Ruling

If the parties wish to submit on the tentative ruling and avoid a court appearance on the matter, the moving party must contact the opposing party and all other parties who have appeared in the action and confirm that each will submit on the tentative ruling. Please call the court no later than 4:30 p.m. on the court day before the hearing, leave a message with the court clerk at (310) 260-3629 advising her that all parties will submit on the tentative ruling and waive hearing, and finally, serve notice of the Court's ruling on all parties entitled to receive service. If any party declines to submit on the tentative ruling, then no telephone call is necessary, and all parties should appear at the hearing.

Case Number: 20SMCV00216    Hearing Date: April 8, 2025    Dept: I

The court is not inclined to issue the OSC.  Contempt, including civil contempt, is serious stuff, and the court is quite slow to move in that direction.  Not only does issuing an OSC trigger criminal and quasi criminal protections—which would shut down any attempt by judgment creditor to gain any information from the judgment debtor—the likelihood that a contempt order by this court would result in judgment debtor actually being sent to the County Jail are somewhere between zero and zero because even were the court to issue such an order the Sheriff would not carry it out due to the severe overcrowding problem.  Further, while the court agrees that there must be some basis upon which to invoke the right against self-incrimination before the invocation will be valid, the court is not prepared to burden its already over-burdened calendar with that issue.

The court understands judgment creditor’s frustration.  But there are more efficient and effective means to obtain information about finances and to recover on a judgment than using the contempt tool, especially the Draconian remedy of throwing Rechnitz in jail until he complies.  The request is DENIED.