JAMES C. WILLIAMS, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
ELSIE L. WILLIAMS, APPELLEE
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A Florida appeals court addressed whether a husband in civil contempt for failing to pay court-ordered alimony could be released from jail before serving a mandatory six-month sentence. The court affirmed the contempt finding and imprisonment but reversed and remanded to require the trial court to allow the husband to purge himself of contempt immediately by paying the owed amounts.
The trial court properly found the appellant in contempt and justifiably imposed imprisonment. However, the court erred in conditioning the purge provision on serving six months of jail time first. In civil contempt cases, the appellant must be afforded the immediate opportunity to purge himself by complying with the court's order (here, by paying the owed sums), regardless of how much time has elapsed.
[1] A trial court has the power to hold a party in contempt for failure to comply with a final judgment of dissolution of marriage.
[2] A trial court is justified in sentencing a party to imprisonment and entering a money judgment for arrears in alimony payments upon a finding of contempt.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is crystal clear that the trial judge properly and legitimately exercised his power to hold appellant in contempt under Florida law for his failure to comply with the court's order.”
Establishes that the contempt finding itself was proper and justified.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJames C. Williams, Jr. failed to pay alimony and other monetary allowances required by a final judgment of dissolution of marriage to his wife, Elsie …
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Appellant, James C. Williams, Jr., husband, defendant in the trial court, failed to pay alimony and other monetary allowances to Elsie L. Williams, wife, plaintiff in’ the trial court, as required in the final judgment of dissolution of marriage. Upon application of the appellee, and after proper hearing, the trial judge determined appellant to be in contempt of the final judgment aforesaid. Accordingly, the experienced trial judge ordered appellant to serve one year in the Hendry County Jail without provision for him to purge himself of the contempt until the end of six months imprisonment. Appellant timely filed this appeal from the order of contempt.
*543It is crystal clear that the trial judge properly and legitimately exercised his power to hold appellant in contempt under Florida law for his failure to comply with the court’s order. Likewise, there is no question but that the trial judge was, in view of the circumstances of this case, absolutely justified in sentencing appellant to a term of imprisonment, entering a money judgment for arrears in alimony payments, and ordering him to pay the other sums of money as set forth in the order of contempt. We, therefore, affirm the order of the trial court in this regard.
We are seriously concerned with the point raised by appellant in which he questions the propriety and legality of the following provision recited in the contempt order:
E. That the Petitioner, JAMES C. WILLIAMS, JR., may purge himself of this contempt and be released from the Hendry County Jail after six (6) months from the date of said hearing; by paying all amounts due under this Order.
After careful and considerate study, we respectfully submit that the trial judge erred in not affording the appellant the opportunity to purge himself of the contempt until the end of six months imprisonment. Clearly, on the face of the record, this is a civil contempt proceeding; yet, there was “no way” for appellant to be released from jail until he served the six months sentence. On the authority of Lord v. Lord, Fla.App. 1958, 104 So.2d 624, and the cases cited therein, we have no alternative but to remand this cause to the trial court to modify the provisions of the order of contempt to allow appellant to purge himself and be released from the sentence upon payment by him to appellee of the money set forth in the order aforesaid.
The order appealed is, therefore,
Reversed in part and affirmed in part.
MANN, C. J., and McNULTY, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Faircloth v. Faircloth, 321 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)…ereby terminate his imprisonment by paying the specified arrearages. That provision of the order is characteristic of coercive civil contempt citations, and it is essential. Newton v. Newton, 287 So. 2d 410 (Fla.App.2nd, 1974); Williams v. Williams, 277 So. 2d 542 (Fla.App.2nd, 1973). A finding that he upon whom the order operates must have present power to obey is required by the historic nature of the contempt process. We do not imprison for debt. Art. I, § 11, Fla.Const. Therefore, a finding that the debt…
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Brown v. Kermit Marlin Brown, 399 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)…ment of the same by . legal process and by such equitable remedies as the trial court may determine to be appropriate or necessary to that end. Id. at 642-43. See also Ginsberg v. Ginsberg, 123 So. 2d 57 (Fla.3d DCA 1960), and Williams v. Williams, 277 So. 2d 542 (Fla.2d DCA 1973). I would accordingly conclude that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to order payment of arrearage which was adequately proven. Clearly a parent may not contract away the right of a child to receive support. Gammon…
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Adams v. Adams, 368 So. 2d 958 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…y, reverse the order under review as to this issue and remand the cause to the trial court with directions to insert the appropriate purge provisions in the contempt order. Spencer v. Spencer, 311 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Williams v. Williams, 277 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973); Lord v. Lord, 104 So. 2d 624 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958). Affirmed in part; reversed in part and remanded.…
Authorities Cited
- Edmond C. Lord v. Lord, 104 So. 2d 624 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958)