eNotes: Washington, DC – Liability – May 2025

SIGNIFICANT CASE SUMMARIES

WASHINGTON, DC CASE SUMMARY

Kayode v. Midas Constr., LLC
D.C. Court of Appeals
No. 21-CV-0561

Decided: April 11, 2024

Trial Court abused its discretion in holding Plaintiff in contempt for failure to pay a money judgment to Defendants.

Background

A pro se Plaintiff sued a construction company and its owner, individually, in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. She alleged breach of contract, negligence, and violation of the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Act. Plaintiff’s suit concerned a renovation project on Plaintiff’s property.

The Superior Court dismissed Plaintiff’s suit due to a forum-selection clause in the construction contract that identified Montgomery County, Maryland as the agreed-upon forum for any contractual related disputes. The Trial Court further ordered Plaintiff pay Defendants attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to a contractual provision of the same construction contract. Plaintiff was held in contempt by the trial court when she failed to immediately comply with its order to pay attorneys’ fees and costs. The Court entered a money judgment against her. Plaintiff appealed.

Holding

Plaintiff argued on appeal that the Trial Court abused its discretion in finding her in contempt. As a threshold matter, the D.C. Court of Appeals found the order of contempt to be reviewable as a justiciable controversy. The Court held that the Trial Court had abused its discretion in its finding of contempt against the Plaintiff, since contempt is not an appropriate remedy for the non-payment of a money judgment as it can expose an individual to further fines or conditional imprisonment. The Court reasoned that the appropriate remedy is the obtaining of a writ of execution or fieri facias and found there were no special circumstances that justified a departure from that ordinary course of action.

Questions about this case can be directed to Meredith Bestland at (443) 641-0560 or mbestland@tthlaw.com.