Dimalanta v. Dimalanta

Citations

• 2020 Ohio 6992

Syllabus

Civil contempt spousal support child support temporary support order service purge condition. A trial court does not err by finding a party in contempt for failure to comply with the terms of a temporary support order where the party failed to comply with the terms, regardless of whether the court subsequently makes an unrelated modification to the temporary order. A magistrate's decision finding a party in civil contempt is not effective unless it is adopted by the trial court. Where the record otherwise reflects that a party violated a temporary support order twice, and the trial court contemporaneously considers the two violations, the trial court does not err by finding that both violations constitute a \first offense\ and imposing a sentence accordingly. Proper service is not required where a party has actual notice of the contempt charges pending against him. A party does not establish that service was defective based on vague and unsubstantiated claims. A trial court does not abuse its discretion by imposing an unreasonable or impossible purge condition where the contemnor failed to present evidence that established the condition is unreasonable or impossible.