CONTEMPT OF COURT IN FLORIDA
Holding a party in contempt of court in Florida requires filing a Motion For Contempt And Enforcement. Lawyers file a Motion For Contempt against a party that is not complying with a court order.
The person seeking a court order holding a non-compliant party in contempt must show the following:
a) A court order or judgment that clearly defines an obligation of a party (such as the payment of alimony); and
b) The party with the obligation is not complying with the court order or judgment (such as not paying alimony); and
c) The party not complying with the court order or judgment is doing so willfully (such as having the ability to pay alimony but refusing to do so).
The above example uses alimony, but if a party fails to comply with any term of his or her court-ordered obligations the result may be a finding of contempt. An exception to this would be failing to comply with an order requiring payments as part of equitable distribution. Equitable distribution payments are not subject to the court’s contempt powers.
FILING A MOTION FOR CONTEMPT IN FLORIDA
When drafting your Motion For Contempt And Enforcement, you must specifically allege why the party is in contempt. You must identify how the other party is not complying with the court order. Attach a copy of the order or judgment to your motion. You must advise the court that the party is in willful contempt.
I will use the above example of alimony to illustrate. The court orders your spouse to pay alimony. Your spouse can afford to make alimony payments pursuant to the order, but refuses. Your spouse may be held in contempt because they are willfully failing to comply with the court order. However, if the party has lost his or her job and no longer has the resources to pay alimony, then they are not willfully refusing to comply with the order or judgment, and will most likely not be held in contempt.
WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES FOR CONTEMPT
There are two types of contempt of court in Florida, civil contempt and criminal contempt.
Civil contempt can be ordered by the court if it is determined that the order or judgment is clear as to the party’s responsibilities and the non-compliant party is failing to follow the order or judgment because of his or her unwillingness to do so.
Criminal contempt can be either direct or indirect. Direct criminal contempt occurs in the presence of the court. An example would be disruptive behavior in court (arguing with the judge, interrupting witnesses, or the other party, or becoming loud and abusive). For a finding of direct criminal contempt, the judge must first instruct the party to stop the disruptive behavior, and the party ignores the instruction and continues his course of disruptive conduct.
Indirect criminal contempt occurs outside the presence of the court. An example would be an order of no contact with the other party (this order is in every domestic violence injunction), and the party ignores this order and makes contact with the other party. This would be a violation of the no-contact order and can result in arrest.
If you want strong, experienced counsel to represent your interests, please feel free to call or e-mail The Fuller Firm, LLC. Tampa lawyer Kevin A. Fuller will schedule a free phone or videoconference consultation. After a thorough case analysis, I will answer your questions and advise you regarding the best way to proceed.