United States v. Darwin Construction Co.

Facts

On June 23, 1986, the Court ordered Darwin (D) to comply with the IRS summons or face penalties of $5000 per day for non-compliance. D had been asked for the documents before the order. The next day, D produced some but not all of the documents required by the IRS. The IRS informed D that the response was not complete on the 27^th. On June 30, D provided the rest of the documents. At a hearing, it was shown that D knew the documents were missing or had taken no special steps to ensure compliance with the court order. The court determined that D was in civil contempt and must pay $30,000 in penalties. On the date, its payment was due on the civil contempt fine D filed a motion to set aside or reduce the fine pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e). D argued that it had made reasonable efforts to comply and the court was punishing D for failures prior to the order. D claimed that it had substantially complied and did so in good faith. D claims that the items produced six days late were 'lost' and that 'considering only the period from the contempt order forward, immediate production of the lost items was impossible.'

Issues

Rule of Law

Holding and Decision

Legal Analysis

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