Released: 02/06/2012   Panel: Wilder (concurring in part; dissenting in part), KF KELLY, Fort Hood (concurring in part; dissenting in part)

Opinion - Authored - Published View Opinion
Opinion - Partial Concurrence/Dissent View Opinion
Opinion - Partial Concurrence/Dissent View Opinion

Courts - Contempt - Civil/Criminal
Sanctions for civil contempt of court are coercive, while sanctions for criminal contempt are punitive.

Appeal and Error - Appeal - Right - Final Order - Contempt - Criminal
Courts - Contempt - Criminal - Appeal - By Right
An adjudication of criminal contempt is a crime and, therefore, a final order from which a contemnor may appeal as of right.

Appeal and Error - Appeal - Leave - Contempt - Civil
Courts - Contempt - Civil - Appeal - By Leave
An adjudication of civil contempt is not a final order for purposes of appellate review.

Appeal and Error - Appeal - Right - Contempt - Incarceration - Nonparty
Courts - Contempt - Nonparty - Incarceration - Appeal - By Right
The imposition of incarceration as a sanction for contempt upon a nonparty entitles the nonparty to a right of appeal. In this case, the defendant corporate construction contractor agreed to build freeway connections to a bridge according to plans specified in its contract with the plaintiff. The defendant contractor failed to adhere to the plans, and following repeated attempts by the plaintiff to enforce the terms of the agreement, including through court orders, the plaintiff sought an order finding the defendant contractor in contempt of court. At the conclusion of the proceedings, the trial court found the defendant in contempt, and ordered that the individual appellants -- a minority shareholder of a company which owned the corporation and the president of the corporation -- jailed until the contractor fulfilled its obligations under the contract. The individual appellants appealed by right, and the plaintiff argued that the Court of Appeals was without jurisdiction because appeal from the contempt proceedings was required to have been by leave granted. However, although an adjudication of civil contempt is generally not a final order, a nonparty subjected to incarceration for contempt has a right to appeal. The appeal was properly before the court.

Due Process - Procedural - Review - Standard
The determination whether a person has been afforded due process is a question of law which is reviewed de novo on appeal.

Courts - Contempt - Power
A trial court has the inherent and statutory authority to enforce its orders.

Courts - Contempt - Civil - Purpose
In civil contempt proceedings, a trial court employs its contempt power to coerce compliance with a present or future obligation, including compliance with a court order, or to reimburse the complainant for costs incurred by contemptuous behavior. Civil contempt proceedings seek compliance through the imposition of sanctions of indefinite duration, terminable upon the contemnor’s compliance or inability to comply.

Courts - Contempt - Civil - Procedure
A trial court must carry out the proper procedures before it can issue an order holding a party or individual in contempt of court. A civil contempt proceeding only requires rudimentary due process, through notice and an opportunity to present a defense.

Corporations - Acts of Agents
A corporation may only act through its officers and agents.

Corporations - Jurisdiction - Officers
When a court acquires jurisdiction over a corporation as a party, it obtains jurisdiction over the official conduct of the corporate officers so far as that conduct may be involved in the remedy against the corporation which the court is called upon to enforce.

Corporations - Piercing Corporate Veil
A court will disregard the separate existence of a corporate entity when it is used to defeat public convenience, justify wrong, protect fraud, or defend crime.

Corporations - Contempt - Officers
Courts - Contempt - Corporation - Officers
Individuals who are officially responsible for the conduct of a corporation’s affairs are required to obey a court order directed at the corporation, and they may be sanctioned if they fail to take appropriate action. A command to a corporation is in effect a command to those who are officially responsible for the conduct of its affairs. If they, apprised of the writ directed to the corporation, prevent compliance or fail to take appropriate action within their power for the performance of the corporate duty, they are guilty of disobedience and may be punished for contempt. In this case, the individual appellants argued on appeal that they were improperly sanctioned based on the failure of the defendant corporate contractor to comply with the court's orders, but the appellants were responsible for the conduct of the corporation and were properly sanctioned.

Courts - Contempt - Indirect - Procedure
When contempt is committed outside the court’s direct view, a court may punish the contemnor by fine or imprisonment, or both, after proof of the facts charged has been made by affidavit or other method and opportunity has been given to defend. Upon a proper showing on ex parte motion supported by affidavits, the trial court must order the accused person to show cause, at a reasonable time specified in the order, why that person should not be punished for the alleged misconduct, or issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the person.

Courts - Contempt - Review - Standard
A trial court’s issuance of a contempt order is reviewed for an abuse of discretion, while its factual findings are reviewed for clear error, and issues of law are reviewed de novo. Reversal is warranted only when trial court’s decision is outside the range of principled outcomes.

Statutes - Construction - Court Rule - Review - Standard
The interpretation of court rules is reviewed de novo.

Statutes - Construction - Review - Standard
The interpretation of statutes is reviewed de novo.

Courts - Contempt - Sanctions - Civil - Incarceration
Confinement or imprisonment may be imposed whether the contempt is civil or criminal in nature. In the civil context, the confinement must be conditional; the critical feature which determines whether the remedy is civil or criminal in nature is not when or whether the contemnor is physically required to set foot in a jail but whether the contemnor can avoid the sentence imposed on him, or purge himself of it, by complying with the terms of the original order. Civil contempt imposes a term of imprisonment which ceases when the contemnor complies with the court’s order or when it is no longer within his power to comply.

Courts - Contempt - Sanctions
Generally, punishment for contempt may be a fine of not more than $250, or imprisonment which, except in those cases where the commitment is for the omission to perform an act or duty which is still within the power of the person to perform may not exceed 30 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Courts - Contempt - Sanctions - Civil
If a contempt consists of the omission to perform some act or duty which is still within the power of the person to perform, the imprisonment must be terminated when the person performs the act or duty or no longer has the power to perform the act or duty which must be specified in the order of commitment and pays the fine, costs, and expenses of the proceedings which must be specified in the order of commitment. In this case, the trial court ordered the appellants to be incarcerated until they fully complied with its earlier order, but it failed to specify what act or duty was required to be performed to permit their release. Further, although the appellants had the present immediate ability to commence and continue construction, they did not have the present immediate ability to actually finish the construction in accordance with the court's directives for a period of six to twelve months. The condition for their release therefore did not permit them to avoid contempt and obtain their own release. Under the circumstances, remand for specification of the conditions of release was necessary.

Courts - Contempt - Sanctions - Standard
When the purpose of a contempt of court sanction is to make a party or person comply, the trial court, in exercising its discretion, must consider the character and magnitude of the harm threatened by continued contumacy, and the probable effectiveness of any suggested sanction in bringing about the result desired.

Courts - Contempt - Sanctions - Civil - Incarceration - Limitation
The purpose of civil contempt is to enforce compliance with an order, rather than to punish for disobedience, and thus the contemnor may not be incarcerated beyond the time in which he is able to comply with the court’s order.