Bullock v. Bullock

2014 WY 131, 336 P.3d 136, 2014 WL 5378913
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 23, 2014
DocketS-14-0033, S-14-0069
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 2014 WY 131 (Bullock v. Bullock) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bullock v. Bullock, 2014 WY 131, 336 P.3d 136, 2014 WL 5378913 (Wyo. 2014).

Opinion

HILL, Justice.

[¶ 1] Ted Bullock (Father) and Teresa Bullock (Mother) were divorced in February 2013. In mid-summer 2013, Mother filed a contempt motion alleging Father had violated the divorce decree by failing to obtain health insurance coverage for the parties' daughter, failing to exercise summer visitation with the parties' son, and interfering with Mother's use of outbuildings associated with the residence in which she and the children were entitled to reside under the decree. The district court entered orders: (1) holding Father in contempt for failing to provide insurance and/or proof of insurance for the parties' daughter; (2) sanctioning Father for failing to exercise summer visitation with the parties' son; (8) ordering that Mother would have use of the outbuildings in dispute; and (4) requiring Father to pay Mother's attorney fees associated with the contempt motion. Father appeals the order relating to the health insurance and visitation and the order requiring that he pay Mother's attorney fees. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

ISSUES

[T2] Father separately appealed the contempt and attorney fees orders, and those filings have been consolidated on appeal. With respect to Father's appeal of the contempt order, Father presents four issues. The first two issues relate to the health insurance findings, and the last two issues relate to the visitation findings, Father states those four issues as follows:

A. Whether the district court committed a clear and grave abuse of discretion, committed a serious procedural error, or violated a principle of law in holding [Father] in contempt of court for failing to comply with the medical support provisions of the divorcee decree in the absence of a clear and unambiguous order requiring him to file proof of insurance or addressing the sufficiency of medical insurance.
B. Whether the district court abused its discretion by modifying the medical support provisions of the Decree of Divorce in the absence of a proper pleading for modification by conditioning the sufficiency of the insurance provided by [Father] on [Mother's] approval.
C. Whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction to impose a monetary sanction against [Father] for failing to exercise visitation with an adult child to enforce an agreement which was outside the seope of the Decree of Divorce.
D. Whether the district court committed a grave procedural error and abused its discretion by penalizing [Father] in the form of a money judgment in favor of [Mother] in the absence of procedural due process in a criminal contempt proceeding.

*139 [¶ 3] In his sppeal of the attorney fees order, Father presents a single issue and states that issue as follows:

Whether the district court's award of attorney's fees and costs to the [Mother] in a contempt action should be vacated if the district court erred, as a matter of law, in finding [Father] in contempt of court for violating the medical support provisions of the Decree of Divorce.

FACTS

[¶ 4] Father and Mother were married on April 13, 2006. At the time of their marriage, Mother had two children, CCB, born in 1994, and KEB, born in 1996. CCB is severely disabled and requires full time care, and KEB has suffered a traumatic brain injury that interferes with her ability to learn and will likely prevent her from obtaining a high school diploma. Father adopted the children in 2007.

[T5] On February 28, 2012, Father filed a complaint for divorce, and on February 19, 2013, the district court entered a divorcee decree. The divorcee decree incorporated the parties' stipulated Property Settlement, Child Custody and Child Support Agreement (Agreement). Pursuant to the Agreement, Mother was awarded primary physical custody of the children. Father agreed to pay lifetime support for CCB and support for KEB until she graduates from high school or reaches the age of twenty-one, whichever oceurs first. The parties agreed that when KEB reaches the age of twenty-one, they would have KEB evaluated to determine whether lifetime support would be necessary. The Agreement further specified that Father would provide health insurance for KEB:

[Father] will arrange for health insurance for KEB. CCB is currently receiving Medicaid. Each party will be responsible for one-half of all medical, dental, counseling, optical and/or orthodontic bills for the children not covered by medical insurance. Each party will also be responsible for one half of all travel expenses associated with the children's health care.

[¶ 6] Regarding visitation, the Agreement entitled Father to weekend and holiday visitation. Relevant to this appeal, the Agreement provided as follows concerning summer visitation:

Both parties may opt to have the children for two consecutive weeks during the summer visitation in order to accommodate longer trips. The parties will discuss this possibility and make such arrangements before May 31 of every year.

[¶ 7] The Agreement also addressed Mother's living accommodations. During the marriage the parties did not acquire real property and had lived in a home on ranch property owned by Father's family. The Agreement provided that Mother and the parties' children would continue to reside in the marital home until both children graduated from high school.

[¶ 8] On July 8, 2013, Mother filed a motion for order to show cause why Father should not be held in contempt of court for violating the Agreement. Through that motion, Mother alleged that Father violated the Agreement by: 1) interfering with her use of the marital home and associated outbuildings; 2) failing to exercise his visitation rights with the children and most particularly CCB; and 3) failing to procure health insurance for KEB. On July 19, 2018, the district court issued a show cause order requiring Father to appear at a hearing on October 1, 2013 and show cause why he should not be held in contempt.

[¶ 9] On October 1 and October 28, 2018, the court held evidentiary hearings on Mother's contempt motion. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court orally ruled that the Agreement permitted Mother to use the outbuildings associated with the marital home, including the barn and shop. With respect to the health insurance coverage for KEB, the court ruled that the documents that Father submitted during the hearing did not qualify as health insurance and that Father was therefore in contempt. The court further ruled that Father could purge the contempt by submitting evidence of acceptable health insurance coverage by January ist. Last, the court ruled that Father must reimburse Mother for day care costs she incurred during periods in which Father was supposed to have summer visitation with CCB.

*140 [¶ 10] On October 81, 2018, Father filed a motion for new trial pursuant to W.R.C.P. 59. Attached to the motion was a copy of the health insurance policy that Father had obtained for KEB, with an effective date of July 18, 2013.

[¶ 11] On November 21, 2018, the court issued its Order on Motion for Contempt. The written order provided, in part:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2014 WY 131, 336 P.3d 136, 2014 WL 5378913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bullock-v-bullock-wyo-2014.