Jacob-Dick v. Dick

Citations

• 231 Conn. App. 404

Syllabus

The defendant appealed from the trial court's judgment granting the plain- tiff's postdissolution motion for contempt with respect to the defendant's failure to pay certain child health care expenses. The defendant claimed, inter alia, that the court abused its discretion in finding him in contempt. Held: The trial court abused its discretion in finding the defendant in contempt because, in light of the defendant's payment of all health care expenses specified in the plaintiff's motion for contempt prior to the hearing on the motion, the defendant's conduct could not reasonably be viewed as wilful disobedience of a court order. This court concluded that, although the defendant's incarceration following the trial court's finding of contempt was improper in light of its conclusion that the trial court abused its discretion in finding him in contempt, the trial court's order that the defendant be taken into custody until the alleged arrearage was purged did not constitute an improper criminal sanction, as by its plain terms the sanction was conditional in nature and allowed the defendant to end the sentence and discharge himself by paying the sum of the arrearage. Argued November 20, 2024—officially released March 18, 2025