Eades v. Eades
| Docket Number: | 2002-CA-00751-COA Linked Case(s): 2002-CT-00751-SCT ; 2002-CT-00751-SCT ; 2002-CA-00751-COA |
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| Court of Appeals: |
Opinion Link Opinion Date: 09-23-2003 Holding: Affirmed |
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| Additional Case Information: |
Topic: Contempt - Inability to pay Judge(s) Concurring: McMillin, C.J., King and Southwick, P.JJ., Bridges, Thomas, Lee, Irving, Chandler and Griffis, JJ. Procedural History: Bench Trial Nature of the Case: CIVIL - DOMESTIC RELATIONS |
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| Trial Court: |
Date of Trial Judgment: 11-23-2001 Appealed from: Itawamba County Chancery Court Judge: Charles D. Thomas Disposition: APPELLANT ORDERED TO BE INCARCERATED IN CONTEMPT ACTION Case Number: 98-0253 |
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| Party Name: | Attorney Name: | |||
| Appellant: | Larry D. Eades |
PHILLIP M. WHITEHEAD |
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| Appellee: | Kathy Lyn Eades | JAK MCGEE SMITH |
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Synopsis provided by:  If you are interested in subscribing to the weekly synopses of all Mississippi Supreme Court and Court of Appeals hand downs please contact Tammy Upton in the MLI Press office. |
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| Topic: | Contempt - Inability to pay |
| Summary of the Facts: | After Larry and Kathy Eades were divorced, Larry stopped making periodic alimony payments and filed a petition for modification of the settlement agreement to eliminate the alimony obligations. Kathy filed a complaint for contempt. The chancellor denied Larry's request to eliminate the alimony and ordered Larry to pay the past due alimony and complete the other requirements of the separation agreement. Larry made the past due payments, but he failed to continue making alimony payments and fulfilling other obligations. Kathy filed another complaint for contempt. The chancellor found Larry in contempt and ordered him to pay $15,936 by November 23 or be incarcerated. Larry then filed for bankruptcy protection and initiated this appeal. Kathy sought and was granted the right to have the bankruptcy stay lifted. The chancellor ordered Larry to be incarcerated till he paid the amount owed. Larry appeals. |
| Summary of Opinion Analysis: | A litigant is entitled to offer evidence of an inability to pay as a defense to the incarceration of a civil contempt action. The contemnor has the burden to prove his inability to pay which must be shown with specificity. Larry testified that it was his intention to make the alimony payments when he returned to gainful employment and that the downturn in the economy had left him unemployed. Larry was unemployed when he agreed to the original property settlement agreement, and he testified that he had not made an attempt to get a job from the time he had entered the separation agreement till the present. Given these facts, the chancellor did not err in rejecting Larry's defense. |
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