MOTION FOR CONTEMPT

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

 IN AND FOR BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

MOTION FOR CONTEMPT

COMES NOW, the Respondent/Husband, GEORGE T. MCNULTY, hereinafter (“husband”), pro se, files this Motion for Contempt for Failing to Comply with husband’s Requests, states as follows: 

FACTUAL ALLEGALTIONS

  1. The husband filed a Supplemental Request to Produce on February 2, 2021, requesting the Wife to produce certain documents within thirty (30) days. 
  2. The Wife failed to respond to the Supplemental Request to Produce the requested documents and did not file any objection to the Supplemental Request to Produce or request for an extension of time or did not provide the documents. 
  3. The requested documents ought to have been produced on or before March 5, 2021.
  4. On or about March 24, 2021, Husband, through his counsel, filed a Motion to Compel, requesting this Honorable Court to issue an Order compelling Wife to produce the requested documents.
  5. However, up until the time of the instant Motion, no Order has been entered compelling Wife to submit the requested documents. Also, Wife has not yet submitted the documents despite all Husband’s attempts to request the documents. 

 

LEGAL ARGUMENTS

  1. In determining whether to hold a party in civil contempt, “courts have broad discretion in formulating a valid contempt sanction and the ability . . . to impose creative contempt sanctions.” Huber v. Disaster Sols., LLC, 180 So. 3d 1145, 1148 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015) (quoting Parisi v.  Broward Cty., 769 So. 2d 359, 367 (Fla. 2000)). Further, a “necessary element of civil contempt is the contemnor’s intent to violate a court order.” Roberts v. Bonati, 133 So. 3d 1212, 1216 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014).
  2. In Parisi, the Florida Supreme Court explained that civil contempt sanctions are further classified as either compensatory or coercive sanctions. Parisi, 769 So. 2d at 363. The Court also recognized that the key safeguard in civil contempt proceedings is a finding by the trial court that the contemnor has the ability to purge the contempt.” Id. at 365; see also Creative Choice Homes, II, Ltd. V. Keystone Guard Services, Inc., 137 So. 3d 1144, 1146-46 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014) (“In addition to requiring the mandatory purge provision that is the hallmark of all civil sanctions, coercive civil sanctions in the form of a civil fine also require a consideration of the contemnor’s financial resources and ability to pay the fine assessed.”
  3. “[a] civil contempt sanction is coercive in nature and is avoidable through obedience.” Amendments to Fla. Family Law Rules of Procedure, 723 So.2d 208, 213 (Fla.1998). See also, Bowen v. Bowen, 471 So.2d 1274, 1277 (Fla.1985) (emphasis omitted). “A civil contempt order must contain a specific purge provision that adequately informs the contemnor what he or she must do to purge the contempt.” Lanza v. Lanza, 804 So.2d 408, 409 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). “
  4. In the instant case, the contemptuous conduct by Wife is precisely the type of conduct that warrants Wife being held in contempt. Husband has made several attempts to seek Wife’s disclosure of the documents stated hereinbelow, to no avail. It is clear that Wife was determined to violate any court order that would compel her to provide the documents, because even the filing of Husband’s Motion to Compel evoked no response from her. Husband avers that Wife has the ability to purge the contempt, by providing the documents, which are within her reach.  
  5. Besides, it is worth noting that Wife is liable for perjury. In her affidavit before tis honorable court, she claimed that she does not have any money in her account or in any safety deposit box, which is a lie.  
  6. It is unfair that Wife successfully sought to have Husband disclose his financial statements for the years 2017 to 2021, yet Wife does not want to comply with Husband’s request. This honorable court should not condone such unfairness and/or injustice.

PRAYERS 

WHEREFORE, Husband respectfully requests this Court to order Wife to:

  • Disclose any safety deposit box, cash on hand, or any bank account.
  • Disclose old account statements and closing statements for closed accounts. Also, that she discloses the reason(s) for closing the account. 
  •  Disclose her banking statements for the years 2017 to 2021. 
  • Disclose the following list of credit cards and bank statements, based on her own affidavit:

 

Credit Cards:

  1. Chase Freedom Card eding in 4818
  2. Chase Southwest card ending in 3770
  3. American Express ending in 24000
  4. Sears Card ending in 4561
  5. TJMax Reward MasterCard ending in 8988
  6. AAA Dollar Plus Rewards MasterCard ending in 4160

Checking & Saving Accounts:

  1. Chase Checking ending in 9379
  2. Chase Saving ending 9397 (she writes the same account number by “mistake”, I don’t know what’s the right number)

 

Respectfully submitted, 

 

Dated: 

 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

 

The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Motion for Contempt has been furnished via the Florida Courts E-Portal to Petitioner/Wife’s attorney, Richard J. Feinberg, Esq., at the designated address on [ENTER DATE].

 

Respectfully submitted, 

 

Dated: 

 

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