Case Name: SUTTON v. SUTTON
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1911-07-07
Citations: 130 N.Y.S. 368
Docket Number: 
Parties: SUTTON v. SUTTON.
Judges: 
Reporter: West's New York Supplement
Volume: 130
Pages: 368–371

Head Matter:
SUTTON v. SUTTON.
(Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department.
July 7, 1911.)
1. Marriage (§ 62 )—Annulment—Alimony—Application to Enforce Pay-' ment—Statutes .
Where an order requiring plaintiff to pay alimony was made in an action for annulment of marriage, an application to enforce payment by contempt was properly made under Judiciary Law (Consol. Laws 1909, c. 30) § 753, providing that a court of record has power to punish for contempt a party to an action for the nonpayment of money ordered to be paid in a case where by law execution cannot be awarded for its collection, and not under Code Civ. Proc. § 1773, providing for the enforce-' ment of an order requiring a husband to pay money for the support of his wife and children after separation by contempt proceedings.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Marriage, Cent. Dig. § 137; Dec. Dig. § 62. ]
2. Contempt (§ 25 )—Disobedience of Order—Service—Demand.
Under Judiciary Law (Consol. Laws 1909, c. 30) § 753, authorizing enforcement of an order for the payment of money by contempt proceedings, it is not sufficient that the order or judgment be served on. the delinquent, and that he be made fully acquainted with its effect, but compliance with the order or judgment must be explicitly demanded by a. party entitled to make such demand.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Cbntempt, Cent. Dig. §§ 75-78; Dec. Dig. § 25. ]
3. Contempt (§ 25 )—Order for the Payment of Money—Demand.
Plaintiff, 'in an action against his wife for annulment of marriage, was ordered to pay $10 a week “to defendant” at the office of her then present attorney, or of any other attorney who might appear for her. Held, that a substitute attorney for the wife had no authority to make a demand on plaintiff for the payment of such alimony, as he was not authorized to receipt therefor; and hence such a demand was insufficient to support contempt proceedings.
[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Contempt, Cent. Dig. §§ 75-78; Dec. Dig. § 25. ]
Ingraham, P. J., and Laughlin, J., dissenting.
.Appeal from Special Term, New York County.
Action by Me Walter B. Sutton against Josephine Leslie Sutton.From an order fining plaintiff for contempt in having failed to pay an accumulation of alimony, he appeals.
Reversed, and motion denied.
See, also, 129 N. Y. Supp. 1148.
Argued before INGRAHAM, P. J., and McLAUGHLIN, LAUGH-LIN, CLARKE, and SCOTT, JJ.
Max Brown, for appellant.
Abraham C. Cohen, for respondent.
For other cases see same topic & § number in Dec. & Am. Digs. 1907 to date, & Rep’r Indexes

Opinion:
SCOTT, J.
This is an appeal from an order fining the plaintiff for his contempt in having failed to pay the accumulations of alimony due under an order directing such payment.
The action is for the annulment of a marriage, and the application to enforce payment of the alimony was consequently properly made under section 753 of the judiciary law (Consol. Laws 1909, c. 30, formerly section 14, Code Civ. Proc.), instead of under section 1773, Code Civ. Proc., which applies only to actions for a divorce or for a separation.
But even under section 753 of the judiciary law to bring'a party into contempt for disobedience of an order or judgment requiring the payment of money it is not sufficient that the order or judgment be served upon him, and he be made fully acquainted with its effect; but, in addition thereto, a compliance with the order or judgment must be explicitly demanded by a party who has the right to make such demand. Lorton v. Seaman, 9 Paige, 609; McComb v. Weaver, 11 Hun, 271; In re Ockerhausen (Gen. Term, 2nd Dept.) 59 Hun, 200, 13 N. Y. Supp. 396.
In the present case the order for alimony required plaintiff to pay $10 per week to defendant at the office of her then present attorney or of any other attorney who might appear for her. It is to be noted that, while the order designated the attorney's office as the place of payment, the alimony was required to be paid not to the attorney, but to the defendant. Hence, not only had the attorney no right to demand that the alimony should be paid to him, but a payment to the attorney would not be a compliance with the order, nor would the attorney's receipt be an acquittance to plaintiff if the defendant should afterwards demand that he pay the same alimony to her. The only demand served on plaintiff (if indeed it was served) was signed by an attorney who described himself as attorney for the defendant, but was not the same attorney who represented defendant when the order for alimony was made. It appears, by his affidavit, that he had been substituted for the former attorney, but it does not appear that that fact had been communicated to plaintiff. The notice, signed by the substituted attorney, called upon plaintiff "to pay to the undersigned at his office" the amount of alimony which had accrued. As has already been said, this is not what the order required. That this demand was not authorized by defendant, and that plaintiff if he had gone to the attorney's office could not have complied with the order by paying alimony to the defendant, is amply shown by the attorney's own affidavit wherein he swears "that he does not know her whereabouts at present." The plaintiff therefore has not been served with a demand by a party who has a right to make such a demand, and he has not therefore been put in contempt.
The order appealed from must be reversed, and the motion denied, without costs.
MCLAUGHLIN and CLARKE, JJ., concur.