In re Marriage of Dalzell

2025 IL App (2d) 240658-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided November 17, 2025·No. 2-24-0658·Unpublished

Opinion

No. 2-24-0658

Order filed November 17, 2025

NOTICE: This order was filed under Supreme Court Rule 23 and is not precedent except in the limited circumstances allowed under Rule 23(e)(1).

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

SECOND DISTRICT

In re MARRIAGE OF ) Appeal from the Circuit Court JENNIFER DALZELL, n/k/a Jennifer ) of McHenry County. Johnson, )

)

Petitioner-Appellee, )

)

and ) No. 15-DV-878 )

STEVEN DALZELL, ) Honorable ) Robert J. Zalud,

Respondent-Appellant. ) Judge, Presiding.

JUSTICE BIRKETT delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Hutchinson and Mullen concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

Held: Respondent failed to establish that petitioner willfully disobeyed the parties’

dissolution judgment.

¶1 Respondent, Steven Dalzell, appeals the McHenry County circuit court’s directed finding in favor of petitioner, Jennifer Dalzell, n/k/a Jennifer Johnson, thereby denying his contempt petitions. We affirm.

¶2 I. BACKGROUND

¶3 On October 9, 2015, petitioner filed her petition to dissolve her marriage with respondent. On November 16, 2016, the parties entered an agreed allocation judgment as to their four minor children: A.R., C.S., A.L., and C.T. The agreement was later incorporated into the parties’ January 29, 2018, dissolution judgment. Pertinently, paragraph E of the judgment provides:

“[Petitioner] and [Respondent] shall each contribute to all ordinary and extraordinary medical, dental, psychological, vision/optical, prescription, and orthodontic expenses for the minor children, that are not covered by insurance including, but not limited to copays and deductibles, with [Petitioner] to pay forty percent (40%) and [Respondent]

to pay sixty percent (60%) of said expenses, until each minor child’s emancipation. If one party advances payment for any of said expenses as set forth herein, the other party shall reimburse his/her portion of the expense to the paying party within thirty (30) days of receiving invoice and receipt/proof of payment. Both parties shall be responsible to notify the other within fourteen (14) days prior to incurring extraordinary medical, dental, or optical expenses on behalf of the minor children provided that advance notification shall not be required in cases of emergency where delay may imperil the health or safety of the child. Extraordinary medical, dental or optical expenses are defined as, expenses incurred for necessary, nonelective procedures required for the child’s medical, dental or optical health and well-being. Failure of a party to provide notification prior to incurring extraordinary medical, dental or optical expenses on behalf of the minor child to the other party within fourteen (14) days, absent cases of emergency where delay may imperil the health or safety of the child, forfeits that part’s right to reimbursement for said expense(s).”

¶4 On January 29, 2020, respondent moved to modify the dissolution judgment’s provisions concerning child support, maintenance, and parenting time. Respondent argued that two of the

parties’ children—C.S. and C.T.—had recently begun residing with him. Thus, respondent sought a modification of the judgment “to reflect the current parenting time arrangement.” On June 4, 2020, the parties entered an agreed order resolving respondent’s motion. It provided that “[t]he terms of the parenting agreement entered [previously were] terminated.” Additionally, the parties’ remaining minor children—C.S., A.L., and C.T.—would henceforth reside with respondent, who would be responsible for any “[d]ectionmaking [sic] as to matters of health care, extracurriculars, and education.”

¶5 On May 18, 2023, respondent first petitioned the court for a finding of indirect civil contempt, alleging that petitioner violated paragraph E of the dissolution judgment by failing to reimburse certain expenses incurred for C.T.’s transport and admission to two care facilities. Specifically, respondent described how, on February 16, 2023, C.T. had been admitted to Alexian Behavioral Health Hospital before being transferred “to a facility in Connecticut.” C.T. “was [then] asked to leave the [Connecticut] facility” and needed to be transferred to a second facility. Respondent claimed that he had provided petitioner proper notice for the transfer and admission costs to the two facilities, and that by failing to reimburse him, she had willfully violated paragraph E of the dissolution judgment. Respondent sought reimbursement for petitioner’s share of the expenses, attorney’s fees and costs, and requested that petitioner show cause for “why she ought not be held in contempt of court for violating the Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage.”

¶6 On June 26, 2023, petitioner filed her pretrial memorandum, contending that the sought expenses were not recoverable under the dissolution judgment. She argued that nearly $12,000 in claimed transportation costs—incurred for taking C.T. to two out-of-state treatment centers—did not qualify as medical expenses under the judgment because they were not “medically necessary.” Petitioner also questioned whether the treatment itself fell within the judgment’s scope. She noted

that one of the facilities C.T. attended—Outback Therapy in Utah (Outback Utah)—offered “wilderness therapy,” which involved teens engaged in “outdoor activities” led by a “field therapist.” Another purported treatment center—the Turnbridge facility in Connecticut—offered “regular outdoor activities, cultural events, adventures, sports, fitness, and leisure activities” as part of its “comprehensive mental health and substance use treatment.” According to petitioner, the facility further offered “such healing activities as downhill skiing, yoga, kayaking, enjoying a group hug,” and “attending what appear[ed] to be a rock and roll concert.” Petitioner argued that the amenities provided by these treatment centers were more akin to recreational services and were thus unrecoverable under paragraph E of the dissolution judgment, which squarely dealt with medical costs alone.

¶7 Alternatively, petitioner argued that, by failing to provide her with proper notice of the expenses, respondent forfeited any right to reimbursement. According to petitioner, respondent never gave her any detailed information or cost estimates concerning any of the relevant treatment centers. Instead, respondent had only notified petitioner of “the location of the facilities and his ‘plans for moving forward.’ ”

¶8 Petitioner finally contended that respondent’s contempt petition “fail[ed] procedurally,” as respondent was unable to cite any clear language from any court order requiring reimbursement for the claimed expenses.

¶9 On July 31, 2023, respondent filed another motion to modify the parties’ dissolution judgment. In this motion, respondent argued that, when the dissolution judgment had been initially entered, the parties had not fully contemplated how to allocate any costs resulting from their children’s “special medical, mental, or emotional needs.” Thus, respondent argued that the

judgment should be modified “to provide for contribution to [C.T.’s] extraordinary medical, mental, and educational needs.”

¶ 10 On February 23, 2024, respondent filed his second contempt petition, now seeking reimbursement for costs connected to C.T.’s attendance at three different treatment centers: Turnbridge, Outback Utah, and KW Legacy Ranch, which was located in Nevada. On March 8, 2024, petitioner responded to the second contempt petition, generally denying any share in the expenses.

¶ 11 On May 22, 2024, Samantha Tramuta, a clinical director at Turnbridge, was deposed.

¶ 12 On August 6, 2024, respondent filed his third petition for indirect civil contempt, again seeking recovery petitioner’s purported share of C.T.’s updated “medical expenses.”

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

In re Marriage of Dalzell, 2025 IL App (2d) 240658-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2025).

2025 IL App (2d) 240658-U (In re Marriage of Dalzell) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Kokinis v. Kotrich
407 N.E.2d 43 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1980)
In Re Marriage of Steinberg
706 N.E.2d 895 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1998)
O'Leary v. Allphin
356 N.E.2d 551 (Illinois Supreme Court, 1976)
In re: Marriage of Charous
855 N.E.2d 953 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2006)