Neal v. Janssen

          ORDER

          W. Carleton Metcalf United States Magistrate Judge

         This matter is before the Court upon Plaintiffs' Motion to Disburse Property (Doc. 12).

         I. Background

         On or about July 24, 2000, Plaintiffs obtained a judgment against Defendant in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in the amount of $500, 000, one half being awarded for compensatory damages and one half for punitive damage.^[1] Plaintiffs registered the judgment (Doc. 1) in this district on August 29, 2018.

         The next day, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Expedited Issuance of Writ of Execution Without Notice of Exemptions (Doc. 2), in which they stated, “Plaintiffs are entitled to the immediate issuance of a Writ of Execution to enforce their money judgment.”

         On September 5, 2018, the Honorable Dennis Howell, United States Magistrate Judge, directed the Clerk to issue “a Writ of Execution for the enforcement of Plaintiffs' Judgment.” (Doc. 3). That same day, a Writ of Execution (Doc. 4) was issued which directed the United States Marshal to satisfy the judgment by demanding payment from the debtor and out of the personal property of the debtor, and if sufficient property could not be found, then out of the real property belonging to the debtor on the day the judgment was entered on the docket of this Court.

         On September 12, 2018, the United States Marshal filed a Return of Service (Doc. 9), which indicated that specific property of Defendant, to wit: “Gucci Sunglasses”, was levied upon, but not sold.

         On October 4, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Disburse Property (Doc. 10), which Motion was denied without prejudice by Order dated November 8, 2018. (Doc. 11).

         Plaintiffs subsequently filed the instant motion (Doc. 12), requesting an order directing the United States Marshal to disburse the sunglasses directly to Plaintiffs, and crediting $114.00 against the judgment debt.

         II. Discussion

         Rule 69(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states:

A money judgment is enforced by a writ of execution, unless the court directs otherwise. The procedure on execution-and in proceedings supplementary to and in aid of judgment or execution-must accord with the procedure of the state where the court is located, but a federal statute governs to the extent it applies.

         Under North Carolina law, a judgment that requires the payment of money or the delivery of real or personal property may be enforced by execution under Article 28 of the North Carolina General Statutes. See N.C. G.S. §1-302.

         An execution may be: 1) against the property of the judgment debtor, 2) against the person of the judgment debtor, or 3) for the delivery of the possession of ...