McCorvey v. McCorvey

926 So. 2d 114, 2006 WL 861659
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided April 5, 2006·No. 05-1173·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

926 So.2d 114 (2006)

Shaunn Caillier McCORVEY
v.
Derriel Carlton McCORVEY.

No. 05-1173.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

April 5, 2006.

*115 Alex L. Andrus, III, Guglielmo, Lopez, Tuttle, Hunter & Jarrell, L.L.P., Opelousas, LA, for Plaintiff/Appellee, Shaunn Caillier McCorvey.

Glenn J. Labbe', Lafayette, LA, for Defendant/Appellant, Derriel Carlton McCorvey.

Derriel Carlton McCorvey, Lafayette, LA, pro se.

Court composed of MARC T. AMY, ELIZABETH A. PICKETT, and J. DAVID PAINTER, Judges.

AMY, Judge.

The defendant was found in contempt of court for failing to comply with a child support order. The defendant was ordered to pay the arrearage within thirty days or spend thirty days in jail. He was also ordered to pay attorney's fees, and his hunting and fishing licenses were suspended. The defendant filed a notice of intention to apply for emergency writ, mandamus, and prohibition with a request for the trial court to stay execution of its rulings. The trial court denied this request. The defendant subsequently filed a writ and motion and order to stay the trial court's oral reasons for judgment, which were denied. The defendant has perfected this appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm *116 the finding of contempt and deny the motion to reduce child support.

Factual and Procedural Background

The record indicates that after approximately ten years of marriage, the plaintiff, Shaunn Callier-McCorvey Harden (hereinafter "Harden"), and the defendant, Derriel C. McCorvey (hereinafter "McCorvey") divorced. On November 8, 2002, McCorvey was ordered to pay interim child support payments of $673.00 per month. Harden subsequently filed a motion to set final child support. A hearing was held in December 2004, and a judgment was rendered on January 25, 2005, in which McCorvey was ordered to pay $1,544.87 per month in child support "retroactive to the date of filling[sic] suit on June 24, 2002[.]" The trial court determined that McCorvey owed $27,027.97 in arrearage and ordered that he make monthly payments of $500.00 per month plus legal interest until paid.

McCorvey filed an appeal of the January 25, 2005 judgment with this court.[1] The record then reveals that on February 22, 2005, Harden filed a rule for past due support, contempt, and attorney's fees. McCorvey filed a motion to decrease child support on March 9, 2005. In response, Harden filed exceptions of res judicata, no cause of action, and lack of jurisdiction. On April 22, 2005, a hearing was held on both the rule for past support, contempt, and attorney's fees and the motion to decrease child support. The trial court declined to hear McCorvey's motion, stating that it did not have jurisdiction over the matter. Finding McCorvey "guilty of intentional, purposeful civil contempt with no justifiable excuse," the trial court ordered him to pay "arrearages with interest within thirty (30) days from April 22, 2005" or otherwise serve thirty (30) days in jail. He was also assessed with attorney's fees, and his hunting and fishing licenses were suspended.

On April 29, 2005, McCorvey filed a notice of intention to apply for emergency writs of certiorari, mandamus, and prohibition and for stay. The request for stay was denied. He filed his writ with a request for expedited consideration and request for stay, which this court denied. He now appeals, asserting two assignments of error:

1. The trial court erred in holding Derriel McCorvey in contempt of court without justifiable excuse when McCorvey made child support payments based upon his actual income.
2. The trial court erred in refusing to hear McCorvey's Motion to Reduce Child Support despite McCorvey's allegations that a change in circumstances existed that would warrant a reduction in the child support order even though McCorvey is appealing the January 25, 2005 judgment on final child support.

Discussion

Contempt of Court

In his brief submitted to this court, McCorvey questions the circumstances surrounding the award for final child support. He states that although the hearing was held in December 2004, the trial court "set a discovery cutoff date of May 2004 for the Parties['] income and expense documentation." *117 As such, the trial court did not examine his documentation from June 2004 to November 2004, which McCorvey contends was crucial in assessing his monthly income. He argues that because he made child support payments based upon his actual monthly income of $2,950.00 and not $7,500.00 as the trial court determined, the trial court erred in holding him in contempt of court without a justifiable excuse.

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 221 provides:

A contempt of court is any act or omission tending to obstruct or interfere with the orderly administration of justice, or to impair the dignity of the court or respect for its authority.
Contempts of court are of two kinds, direct and constructive.

Constructive contempt is defined as "any contempt other than a direct one." La. Code Civ.P. art. 224. "Willful disobedience of any lawful judgment, order, mandate, writ, or process of the court" constitutes constructive contempt. Id. In Sonnier v. Town of Vinton, 99-927, p. 3 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/22/99), 759 So.2d 818, 820, the court stated:

To find a person or entity guilty of constructive contempt, it is necessary to find that he or it violated the order of court intentionally, knowingly and purposefully, without justifiable excuse. In making this determination, the trial court is vested with great discretion. City of Kenner v. Jumonville, 97-125, 97-210, 97-602 (La.App. 5 Cir. 8/27/97); 701 So.2d 223, writ denied, 97-2890 (La.1/30/98); 709 So.2d 718, cert. denied, 524 U.S. 953, 118 S.Ct. 2371, 141 L.Ed.2d 739 (1998); Reeves v. Thompson, 95-0321 (La.App. 4 Cir. 12/11/96); 685 So.2d 575. The manifest error rule is used when appellate courts are called to review the propriety of civil contempt orders. Parish of Jefferson v. Lafreniere Park Found., 98-345 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/15/98); 720 So.2d 359, writ denied, 98-2598 (La.10/28/98); 723 So.2d 965.

On cross-examination, McCorvey testified that he did not choose to disobey the trial court's order to pay child support for November and December 2004. He explained: "I didn't receive a fee after October of 2004. I received no money, no earned income from my law practice or from any other source for the month of November or December of 2004 . . . yet, I still found a way to pay her something." We reference the fact that, in the previous case, McCorvey's motion for reduction in child support was set for December 2004, and he requested a substantial reduction at that hearing.

McCorvey testified that because of his lack of income, he "had to take money from [his] line of credit . . . to appeal the decision that—ordering me to pay $2000.00 a month combined." He also stated that he had to procure a loan to comply with an order from the trial court. In December 2004, he was ordered to pay $5,000.00 cash as a deposit to an attorney because he would not timely submit his records. McCorvey explained that he posted the $5,000.00 bond because he did not want to go to jail.

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McCorvey v. McCorvey, 926 So. 2d 114, 2006 WL 861659 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

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