Opinion ID: 885518
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Ancillary Order Exception

Text: ¶ 35 The need for a direct appeal approach in some family law cases is warranted for the same reason that the writ of supervisory control exception, identified above, has been permitted in some instances. In authority relied on in setting forth the policy in the second Milanovich decision, this Court identified two distinct circumstances from which a finding of contempt can be challenged: (1) where the court acts without jurisdiction, and (2) in exigent cases where the court acts within jurisdiction, but in a manner so arbitrary and unlawful as to be tyrannical . . . . State ex rel. Zosel v. District Court (1919), 56 Mont. 578, 581-82, 185 P. 1112, 1113 (emphasis added). This latter standard requires that the errors committed must prejudice the substantial rights of the party. See generally State ex rel. Coleman v. District Court (1915), 51 Mont. 195, 200, 149 P. 973, 975 (reviewing contempt order pursuant to writ of supervisory control). ¶ 36 Conceivably, in the context of contentious custody and dissolution disputes where parental and property rights are at stake, an order of contempt not exceeding the issuing court's jurisdiction may include an ancillary order so arbitrary and unlawful as to be tyrannical. This Court has held that a writ of certiorari, however, cannot be used to correct errors within the lower court's jurisdiction. See Buffalo v. Thiel (1984), 213 Mont. 280, 691 P.2d 1343. In Buffalo we stated that: [T]he lack of jurisdiction must be distinguished from an erroneous decision made by a court in exercising the jurisdiction it possessed. If a court is acting within its jurisdiction, it has the power to decide erroneously as well as correctly. If an erroneous decision is made in such a case, it is not void and only subject to correction on appeal or by a writ of supervisory control. Buffalo, 213 Mont. at 284, 691 P.2d at 1345 (emphasis added) (citations omitted). Our decision in Harper illustrates the foregoing rationale. Ultimately, we reversed and remanded the district court's erroneous modification of the Harpers' earlier child support and visitation agreement. Nevertheless, we identified the threshold question of whether § 3-1-523, MCA, barred direct appeal. Harper, 235 Mont. at 44, 764 P.2d at 1285. Potentially, had the district court found Jan Harper in contempt as well as modified the Harpers' visitation and child support under one judgment, her petition for writ of certiorari my have been barred because the issuing court did not exceed its jurisdiction. In other words, if the court had the power to render the judgment, even if some portion of the judgment was in error, the judgment must stand. See generally State ex rel. Lay, 122 Mont. at 71, 198 P.2d at 766. ¶ 37 Thus, one party's contemptuous conduct, under § 3-1-501, MCA, may lead to not only an order of contempt, but also an ancillary order that determines the rights of the parties as a result of the contemptuous conduct all under one judgment as is the case here. The ancillary order, nevertheless, may result from the proper exercise of the court's jurisdiction, and therefore a petition for certiorari would necessarily be denied. Therefore, we hold that the family law direct appeal exception established in our case law applies when, and only when, the judgment appealed from includes an ancillary order which effects the substantial rights of the involved parties. Consequently, we hold that a lone contempt order, regardless of the underlying law of the case, cannot be reviewed by this Court on direct appeal.