Contempt of Court in West Virginia and Ohio Family Law Cases

Civil Contempt

Civil contempt is designed to compel compliance with the court order going forward. It is coercive rather than punitive — its purpose is to motivate the noncompliant party to do what the order requires. In a civil contempt proceeding, the court may impose sanctions that can be avoided if the person complies. For example, a parent who is withholding parenting time may be ordered to immediately comply with the visitation schedule and, if they continue to refuse, may face escalating sanctions. A party held in civil contempt essentially holds the keys to their own release — they can end the contempt by complying with the order.

Common Reasons for Contempt in Family Law

Contempt actions arise in a wide variety of family law situations. Some of the most common include the following.

Failure to Pay Support

When a parent or former spouse falls behind on child support or spousal support payments, the other party can file a contempt petition. If the court finds that the nonpayment was willful — meaning the paying party had the ability to pay but chose not to — the court can impose sanctions including a jail sentence that is suspended on the condition that the delinquent party brings their payments current and continues to pay as ordered.

Violation of Custody or Visitation Orders

A parent who withholds custody or parenting time in violation of the court order, refuses to return the child at the end of their scheduled time, or otherwise interferes with the other parent’s court-ordered access to the child may be held in contempt. This includes engaging in parental alienation behaviors that effectively prevent the child from spending time with the other parent.

Filing a Contempt Petition

A contempt action begins when the aggrieved party files a petition or motion for contempt with the court that issued the original order. The petition must identify the specific provisions of the court order that have been violated and describe how the other party has failed to comply. The more specific and well-documented the allegations, the stronger the case.

Service and Hearing

The party accused of contempt must be formally served with the contempt petition and given notice of the hearing date. At the hearing, both parties have the opportunity to present evidence and testimony. The petitioning party must prove that a valid court order exists, the accused party had knowledge of the order, and the accused party willfully failed to comply. If these elements are established, the burden shifts to the accused party to demonstrate that they were unable to comply despite making good-faith efforts to do so.

Possible Outcomes

If the court finds a party in contempt, it has a range of remedies available. The court may impose a fine, order makeup parenting time to compensate for missed visitation, order the contemnor to pay the other party’s attorney’s fees and costs, impose a jail sentence (which may be suspended if the party complies), order specific performance of the violated provision, modify the underlying order to prevent future violations, and impose any other sanction the court deems appropriate to achieve compliance.