Nesbitt v. Nesbitt

920 So. 2d 326, 2006 WL 74177
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 13, 2006
Docket40,442-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 920 So. 2d 326 (Nesbitt v. Nesbitt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nesbitt v. Nesbitt, 920 So. 2d 326, 2006 WL 74177 (La. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

920 So.2d 326 (2006)

Annette R. NESBITT, Plaintiff-Appellant
v.
B. Woodrow NESBITT, Jr., Defendant-Appellant.

No. 40,442-CA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

January 13, 2006.
Rehearing Denied March 2, 2006.

*328 Donald L. Kneipp, Monroe, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Susan D. Scott, Shreveport, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before GASKINS, CARAWAY and PEATROSS, JJ.

GASKINS, J.

Both former spouses appeal a trial court judgment which classified certain items in their community property partition. Annette Nesbitt Pittman ("the wife") appeals from portions of the judgment pertaining to her former husband's judicial campaign debt and the settlement proceeds of a lawsuit arising from personal injuries suffered by the former husband in a 1988 bicycle accident. B. Woodrow Nesbitt, Jr. ("the husband"), also appeals from portions of the judgment concerning the settlement proceeds, as well as the trial court's finding of contempt against him.

FACTS

The parties married in 1968. They separated in December 2001 and were divorced in June 2002. The parties entered into a consent judgment which was signed in August 2002 and included provisions ordering the parties not to "dissipate" any community assets. The judgment allowed the husband to make payments of tax liability from their accounts, but required him to notify the wife of the payment and provide her with a copy of the check. In 2004, each former spouse filed a rule seeking to have the other held in contempt for violating provisions of the August 2002 judgment.

By a judgment signed in November 2004, the parties entered into a voluntary partial partition of their community property. However, the judgment provided that the parties would litigate the husband's reimbursement claim for the settlement proceeds from his bicycle accident, the classification of the husband's campaign debt, and the contempt rules.

Following a hearing in late November and early December 2004, the trial court held each spouse in contempt for violating various provisions of the August 2002 judgment; however, neither was sentenced *329 nor fined. While the wife does not appeal the contempt finding against her, the husband appeals the contempt finding against him.[1] It involved him selling two community vehicles and depositing the money into his personal account; additionally, he failed to give the wife copies of checks for tax payments as directed in the judgment.

As to the classification of property and obligations, the trial court found that the husband's campaign debt was a community obligation. Concerned with the inequities of such a finding, the court ordered that all proceeds from fund-raisers on behalf of the husband be applied equally to the community debt as between the spouses. As to the classification of the personal injury settlement proceeds, the trial court divided it into three categories: the wife's loss of consortium, or $50,000; the husband's lost wages or future lost wages, or $225,000 (minus the sum of $56,000 received in disability payments); and general damages for personal injury suffered by the husband, or $306,000. Judgment was signed January 13, 2005. It further provided that, due to the allocations made, the wife owed the husband reimbursement of $127,146.27.

CONTEMPT

The husband contests the finding of contempt against him. The trial court found that the husband knew or should have known that the judgment (which stated that the parties were "reciprocally prohibited from dissipating any community assets") was intended to prevent him from getting rid of any community property. The husband admits selling two community vehicles; however, he contends that he did not "dissipate" community assets because he acted prudently to sell them before their values declined and he maintained the sales proceeds for the benefit of the community. He asserts that he would not have sold the vehicles if he thought he was prohibited from doing so. The husband also argues that although he did not give the wife copies of the checks for tax payments, she had access to the statements of the accounts upon which the checks were drawn. Consequently, he reasonably believed that she already had copies of the checks.

The wife argues that the husband was properly held in contempt by the trial court for violating the terms of a judgment which prohibited him from "dissipating" community assets. Furthermore, the prior consent judgment clearly required that the wife be sent copies of the checks and the husband failed to do so.

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. La. C.C.P. art. 221. The trial court is vested with great discretion in determining whether a party should be held in contempt for disobeying the court's orders and its decision will only be reversed when the appellate court discerns an abuse of that discretion. Welborne v. Welborne, 29,479 (La.App.2d Cir.5/7/97), 694 So.2d 578, writs denied, 97-1800, 10/13/97, 703 So.2d 621, 97-1850, 10/13/97, 703 So.2d 623. A proceeding for contempt in refusing to obey the court's orders is not designed for the benefit of the litigant, though infliction of a punishment may inure to the benefit of the mover in the rule. The object of the proceeding is to vindicate the dignity of the court. Welborne, supra; Mizell v. Mizell, *330 37,004 (La.App.2d Cir.3/7/03), 839 So.2d 1222; Martin v. Martin, 37,958 (La. App.2d Cir.12/10/03), 862 So.2d 1081, writ not considered, XXXX-XXXX (La.3/12/04), 869 So.2d 807.

The current law on contempt of court is an oddity in that the sentence dictates the nature of the proceeding, civil or criminal. In its order adjudging a person in contempt, the trial court is to specify the punishment imposed. La. C.C.P. art. 225(B). An adjudication of contempt without the imposition of sanctions is meaningless. Lemoine v. Lemoine, 303 So.2d 520 (La.App. 1st Cir.1974).

Because there were no sanctions imposed, this matter is not ripe for review. Under the present posture, the judge has only made a finding of fact. Therefore, we are unable to examine this ruling for error. We are cognizant that the trial judge intentionally did not impose sanctions. We remand this matter for further proceedings. The trial judge is instructed to either leave this finding of fact as a warning or to complete the adjudication of contempt.

CAMPAIGN DEBT

The wife argues that the trial court erred in classifying the husband's campaign debt as a community obligation. She contends that the court was factually mistaken when it said that she agreed to pay up to $100,000 of the husband's campaign debt. (The wife testified that the husband told her that he would spend $100,000 at most on the campaign.) She also maintains that there was no evidence that the husband made the decision to run for public office to benefit her or the community. To the contrary, she testified that he did not even inform her of his decision until after he entered the race. The wife also asserted that at the time of the campaign, the husband was already planning to leave the marriage. Thus, she argues that the campaign debt only benefitted the husband, not her or their community, and that it should be classified as the husband's separate obligation.

The husband contends that the campaign debt was incurred during the marriage and that the wife reaped benefits from his successful campaign.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
920 So. 2d 326, 2006 WL 74177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nesbitt-v-nesbitt-lactapp-2006.