JAMES WILLIAM COOGAN II, APPELLANT,
v.
POLLY O'BRIEN COOGAN, APPELLEE
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PER CURIAM.
The former husband challenges an order finding him to be in civil contempt, and sentencing him to six months in jail as well as setting a purge amount of $11,870. We find that the portion of the order determining that the former husband has the present ability to pay appears to be inconsistent with the finding that the husband has “deliberately divested himself of the ability to meet his obligations ...” While past deliberate actions of the husband may support a finding of criminal contempt, the entry of the civil contempt order must be supported by a finding that the contemnor has the present ability to purge himself of contempt. Bowen v. Bowen, 471 So. 2d 1274 (Fla.1985). We, therefore, reverse and remand with directions to clarify the court’s findings concerning the present ability to pay or conduct further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
WOLF, LAWRENCE and BENTON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Geary W. Senterfitt v. Oaks, 775 So. 2d 431 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)…mself of contempt, see Bowen, 471 So. 2d at 1277, a party without the current ability to pay the purge amount cannot lawfully be incarcerated as a means of coercing payment. See Fishman v. Fishman, 656 So. 2d 1250, 1252 (Fla.1995); Coogan v. Coogan, 662 So. 2d 1380, 1381 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Rosen v. Rosen, 579 So. 2d 846, 846 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Russell v. Russell, 559 So. 2d 675, 677 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Ponder v. Ponder, 438 So. 2d 541, 543 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Whether the trial court’s finding that Mr. Sen…
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Howell v. Howell, 700 So. 2d 467 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)…ue child support. We conclude that the trial court’s order is facially deficient in that it does not contain a finding that petitioner has the present ability to pay the purge amount. See Bowen v. Bowen, 471 So. 2d 1274 (Fla.1985); Coogan v. Coogan, 662 So. 2d 1380 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). Moreover, we conclude that the record before this court would not support such a finding, had one been made. Accordingly, the petition for [*468] writ of certiorari is granted and the trial court’s order of contempt is quashed.…
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Israel v. Israel, 827 So. 2d 387 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)…creditors, and going out of business, the evidence did not establish that the husband was left with assets from which he retained a present ability to pay the unpaid ongoing support amounts or the purge amount set in the order. See Coogan v. Coogan, 662 So. 2d 1380, 1381 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995). Moreover, the trial court’s earlier order appointing the former wife as receiver of the business contained language which precluded the former husband’s access to any funds still remaining in the business for the purpose o…
Authorities Cited
- Eugenia Bowen & the Fla. Dep't of Health & Rehabilitative Servs. v. Bowen, 471 So. 2d 1274 (Fla. 1985)