The following are summaries of selected civil opinions issued by the Third Court of Appeals during June and July 2024. The summaries are overviews; please review the entire opinions. Subsequent histories are current as of Aug. 12, 2024.
FAMILY LAW: Court grants mandamus relief in contempt proceeding.
In re Kozinn, No. 03-23-00748-CV (Tex. App.—Austin June 6, 2024, orig. proceeding) (mem. op.).
In response to ex-wife’s petition to enforce the parties’ divorce decree raising numerous violations, the trial court held ex-husband in contempt, ordered him to pay $11,500 to ex-wife for each violation, and ordered him to pay ex-wife’s attorney fees of over $47,000. The court of appeals observed that the contempt order was criminal in nature, thus due process requires full notice of the contemptuous acts. According to the Court, the order’s requirement to attend an age-appropriate parenting class was ambiguous. The Court further observed that monetary fines for contempt are not payable to a private litigant. The Court concluded that the attorney fees award was reviewable on direct appeal. The Court granted mandamus relief in part and denied in part. The dissent concluded that the order to take an age-appropriate parenting class was specific enough to enforce by contempt.