In a post judgment divorce action, an ex-husband was found in contempt of court for willfully failing to satisfy his alimony obligation, despite the fact that he filed, and ultimately prevailed on, a motion to modify that obligation. The parties were divorced in 2003 following an uncontested hearing. Per the parties’ divorce agreement, the ex-husband was obligated to pay alimony in the amount of $800 per week until his ex-wife reached the age of sixty-five.
The parties stipulated that said alimony obligation was non-modifiable as to term, but modifiable as to amount. At the time of the divorce, the wife had secured a teaching position earning slightly above $30,000 annually. The ex-husband’s financial affidavit indicated he was earning approximately $866 gross per week from self-employment.
Following the parties’ divorce, the ex-husband closed his broker/dealer business, as well as a financial planning business. Although he owned several pieces of real property, the ex-husband was in arrears on mortgage payments associated with one home, and had very little, if any, equity in other properties. Additionally, the ex-husband owned a local restaurant for which he owed tens of thousands of dollars in un-paid taxes. At the time of the post judgment hearing, the ex-husband’s updated financial affidavit indicated he was earning just over $2,000 gross per week. The ex-wife’s financial affidavit indicated she was earning $71,000 gross per year from her teaching position.
The Court’s Decision
In reviewing the legal standard governing motions for contempt, the Court noted that it may not find a person in contempt without considering the circumstances surrounding the violation to determine whether such violation was willful. However, even where a party is unable to meet his or her financial obligations, a party may not engage in self-help. Orders of the court are to be obeyed until modified or successfully challenged.
In this particular case, the Court found that the ex-husband failed to make a reasonable effort to pay even part of his alimony obligation, despite income he was receiving from consulting work. As the Court pointed out, he owed forty-eight weeks of alimony as of May, 2012. Even though the ex-husband filed a motion to modify his alimony obligation, which the Court ultimately granted, it nevertheless penalized the ex-husband for his noncompliance. In fact, in addition to ordering the ex-husband to pay the ex-wife’s counsel fees, it ordered him to pay $3,000 as a sanction for his failure to comply with the Judge’s original order.
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