In Re the Marriage of: ) DANA R. BOOKER and ) JAMES D. BOOKER, ) ) DANA R. BOOKER, ) Petitioner-Respondent, ) No. SD34213 ) Filed: September 29, 2016 v. ) ) JAMES D. BOOKER, ) ) Respondent-Appellant. )

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF CRAWFORD COUNTY Honorable Kelly W. Parker, Circuit Judge APPEAL DISMISSED James Booker (Husband) appeals from a judgment of contempt and order of commitment for failing to make payments to Dana Booker (Wife) as required by the parties’ October 2012 dissolution decree (the decr ee). For reasons that follow, we conclude this case is moot and dismiss the appeal. The decree ordered Husband to make certain payments and comply with other terms within 180 days. Husband did not do so . In mid-May 2013, Wife filed a motion for2 contempt for failure to perform the term s of the decree. In August 2015, the court conducted a hearing on the contempt motion and received testim ony from both parties. 1 On September 9, 2015, the trial court filed its judgment of contempt and order of commitment (the contempt judgment). Th e contempt judgment contained a specific finding that Husband had the present ability to satisfy the terms of the decree. 2 The court determined that Husband was in contempt of the decree, but the order of commitment was stayed to allow Husband to purge himsel f of the contempt by paying the sum of $125,252.59 by November 10, 2015. 3 The court further ordered: If [Husband] fails to do so, he shall report to the Crawford County Jail at 9:00 a.m. on November 10, 2015 where he is ordered committed until such time as he shall purge his contempt as set forth herein. If [Husband] fails to report, a writ of body a ttachment shall be issued without further notice to [Husband]. [He] shall remain in th e Crawford County Jail until he pays $125,252.59 to [Wife]. [Husband] may purge his contempt herein by other suitable arrangement with [W ife] approved by the court. Husband failed to pay the first sum by November 10, 2015 and a hearing was held that same day. The court ordered Husband committed to the Crawford County Jail until such time as he purged himself of his c ontempt. The court also set bond at $125,252.59, the amount he should have paid by November 10, 2015. Husband was incarcerated as of that date. He filed his notice of appeal from the contempt judgment on November 12, 2015.

1 The delay between the filing and hearing of the contempt motion was due, in part, to Husband’s bankruptcy filing. In that pro ceeding, he attempted to have his obligations to Wife under the decree discharged. The bankruptcy court denied Husband’s request for a discharge of those obligations.

2 The court found that Husband “never in tended nor attempted to satisfy any part of [the decree and] has no inte ntion of voluntarily paying any part of [the decree] in the future.” Husband’s testimony that he did not have the ability to co mply with the decree was described as “unconvincing” by the court.

3 Husband also was ordered to pay $246,141.98 by March 22, 2016.3 On December 4, 2015, Husband filed a “Motion to Modify Excessive Bond Conditions” (motion to modify) with the tr ial court. Therein, Husband requested his “release from incarceration[,]” provided he co mply with several proposed conditions “for purposes of satisfying [the contempt judgmen t.]” On December 7, 2015, the court granted Husband’s motion to modify by docket entry. Th e court ordered that Husband be released from incarceration “on condition that [Husba nd] fully comply with all conditions and agreements set forth in his [motion to modify.]” The docket entry specified:

The court orders the Circuit Cl erk to pay out the $5,000.00 posted by [Husband] to [Wife] and her attorney. [4] As further condition [Husband] has agreed that paragra ph 17 of the [motion to modify] be amended to require [Husband] to cause to be sold the real estate located at 3958 Hwy. 19, Cuba, MO. [Husband] shall pay over to [Wife] any sums realized by the sale of said real es tate. As a further conditi on of the stay herein, the court orders [Husband] to cause a wa ge withholding to be in effect in accordance with paragraph 25A, B, a nd C [concerning payments on real estate until sold and on a loan from his pension plan] of his [motion to modify]. Qualified Domestic Rela tions Order concerning [Husband’s 401(a)] is signed and filed this date. Husband was released from incarceration December 7, 2015. Subsequent docket entries list payments and compliance with th e conditions as ordered in the above docket entry. Husband’s continued pros ecution of this appeal followed. Presenting three points for decision, Husba nd challenges certain findings made by the trial court in the contempt judgment. Wife argues, inter alia , the appeal is moot because Husband is currently making the payments he proposed and purging himself of contempt. We agree with Wife that this appeal is moot.

4 As an initial effort to satisfy the contempt judgment, Husband’s attorney had deposited $5,000 into the registry of the court on December 1, 2015, while Husband was incarcerated.4 An appeal is moot when the question pr esented for determination would not have any practical effect upon an existing controversy. State ex rel. Reed v. Reardon , 41 S.W.3d 470, 473 (Mo. banc 2001). In deciding whether a case is moot, an appellate court is allowed to consider subsequent even ts and matters outside the record. Reardon , 41 S.W.3d at 473; Medlin v. RLC., Inc . , 194 S.W.3d 926, 930 (Mo. App. 2006). “As a general rule, when a party voluntar ily pays a judgment, the party may not appeal from that judgment.” In Re Bell , 481 S.W.3d 855, 867 (Mo. App. 2016); see Braveheart Real Estate Co. v. Peters , 157 S.W.3d 231, 233-34 (Mo. App. 2004) (voluntary compliance effectively concedes the correct ness of the judgment, thereby rendering the appeal moot). This general rule ap plies to a contempt judgment. In Mozingo v. Mozingo , 779 S.W.2d 284 (Mo. App. 1989), the husband was found in contempt for failure to comply

with a dissolution decree. “He was committed to jail, but was later released, and complied with the decree. On his complying with th e court’s order the j udgment finding him in contempt became moot and is unappealable as he had purged himself of contempt.” Id . at 285. As noted in Hamilton v. Hamilton , 661 S.W.2d 82 (Mo. App. 1983), the submission of an approved payment plan to purge a party of contempt also renders an appeal from a contempt judgment moot. Id . at 83. One alternative provided in the contempt judgment for Husband to purge himself was “by other suitable arrangement with [Wif e] approved by the court.” At Husband’s request, the court modified the bond conditions to allow Husband to purge himself of contempt. Subsequent docket entries demons trate that Husband has been making payments and complying with the conditions he proposed. Because Husband is voluntarily satisfying the contempt judgment and purging himself of contempt, his appeal from the contempt judgment is moot. See Zweifel v. Zweifel , 431 S.W.3d 559, 560-61 (Mo. App. 2014)5 (because husband purged himself of the cont empt by complying with the contempt judgment, that judgment is “not appealable”); STL Capital Mgmt., LLC v. Brda , 207 S.W.3d 649, 652 (Mo. App. 2006) (because a ppellants complied with the contempt judgment, their appeal was moot); Vinson v. Vinson , 191 S.W.3d 85, 87 (Mo. App. 2006) (because wife complied with the contempt judgment, her appeal was moot); Lieurance v.

Lieurance , 111 S.W.3d 445, 446 (Mo. App. 2003) (party purging himself of contempt by complying with the court’s order make s “the case moot and unappealable”); Brock v. Brock , 936 S.W.2d 882, 888-89 (Mo. App. 1997) (alt hough wife was found in contempt and jailed for failure to execute documents as required by the dissoluti on decree, her appeal was moot because she purged herself of c ontempt by signing the documents after her release from jail). 5 Accordingly, Husband’s appeal from the contempt judgment is

dismissed as moot. JEFFREY W. BATES, P.J. – OPINION AUTHOR DON E. BURRELL, J. – CONCUR MARY W. SHEFFIELD, C.J. – CONCUR

5 We find no merit in Husband’s two cont rary arguments that: (1) his payments are involuntary; and (2) his paym ent plan also functionally ope rates as a per diem fine. “Satisfying a judgment to avoid a findi ng of contempt does not render payment involuntary.” Bell , 481 S.W.3d at 867 n.14; Braveheart , 157 S.W.3d at 234; see also Southern Mo. Dist. Council of the Assemblies of God, Inc. v. Kirk , 334 S.W.3d 599, 603 (Mo. App. 2011). Husband is voluntarily making payments to Wife in accordance with a schedule that he proposed and the court approved . We also reject th e notion that Husband’s payments to Wife to satisfy monetary obligations imposed by the decree constitute a per diem fine. Husband’s motion to modify, hi s subsequent payments, and compliance with his own proposals all show he is voluntarily doing these thi ngs, in his own words, “for purposes of satisfying [the contem pt judgment]” against him.