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Judge pauses contempt request against Tailored Design, orders breakout to exchange post‑judgment materials
Summary
In a post-judgment contempt hearing, the court paused consideration of incarceration for failure to respond to post-judgment discovery, moved the parties to a private breakout to exchange documents, and continued the matter while preserving the contempt option if the defendant fails to cooperate.
At a Jan. 15, 2025 Clayton County State Court hearing, Judge Tammy Long Hayward paused a motion seeking contempt and possible incarceration against Tailored Design LLC after the defendant said it had not received prior notices; the court sent the parties into a private breakout to exchange post-judgment discovery materials.
Plaintiff counsel Colin Mason said a default judgment had been entered on June 6, 2024, and that post-judgment discovery requests and a Rule Nisi had gone unanswered. The plaintiff sought compliance and asked the court for contempt sanctions after the defendant did not respond to post-judgment inquiries. Judge Hayward explained to the defendant — who appeared without counsel — that corporations generally must be represented by an attorney in state court and reviewed service dates, concluding the complaint had been served on the registered agent in February 2024.
The defendant (appearing as Yvonne Williams) disputed receipt of service, saying the registered-agent address on the papers was outdated. Mason said the sheriff's process server had served Maurice Johnson — listed in the record as the registered agent — in February 2024. Judge Hayward summarized the posture: the default judgment was entered for failure to timely answer, and now the plaintiff was pursuing post‑judgment discovery to collect the judgment.
Because the judgment amount was described by counsel as relatively small (about $2,250 plus interest and $750 in attorney fees, per plaintiff counsel), Judge Hayward suggested an informal exchange and said she would place the parties in a breakout room so Mason and the defendant could confer directly. She said she preferred resolving the dispute without immediately resorting to the harsh sanction of incarceration: “Prior to me issuing a order to put miss, Williams in jail, is it possible that maybe you all can communicate because miss Williams may not have had a clear understanding of her responsibilities with respect to responding to the post judgment inquiries?”
The court paused further contempt action and directed the parties to exchange documents in the breakout room, with the case reset if they did not reach agreement. Court staff were instructed to circulate any necessary orders documenting the continuance or future setting.
