Opinion ID: 2068359
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to Accord Legal Significance to Alleged Agreement to Defer Collection of Child Support.

Text: In his resistance and written explanation filed in response to the order to show cause and in his testimony at the hearing, James stated that he relied on Jayne's agreement to defer collection of child support until the conclusion of his civil litigation. The district court made no mention of the legal significance of that contention in its finding of contempt. Counsel for the defendant to the petition for certiorari urges that even if such agreement existed it could under no circumstances establish a defense to a citation for willful contempt. This argument is premised on the contention that agreements to waive child support are against public policy and unenforceable. In support of the latter contention and its proper application in contempt actions, the defendant relies on the decisions of the court of appeals in In re Marriage of Sundholm, 448 N.W.2d 688 (Iowa App.1989), and Webb v. Iowa District Court, 416 N.W.2d 95 (Iowa App.1987). Because the obligation to pay as well as the willful failure to pay is an element in a child support contempt hearing, it is possible to interpret the foregoing decisions of the court of appeals as only deciding whether the out-of-court agreements in those cases terminated the obligation to pay. As to that matter, the language of the court of appeals appears to accurately state the proposition that such agreements are ordinarily ineffective for that purpose. We are not convinced, however, that it is correct to say as a matter of law that a child support obligor's reliance on an agreement with the support obligee may not, under any circumstances, negate the element of willfulness that must be shown in a contempt proceeding. As we have recognized, for purposes of a finding of contempt, willfully requires evidence of conduct that is intentional and deliberate with a bad or evil purpose, or wanton and in disregard of the rights of others, or contrary to a known duty.... Lutz v. Darbyshire, 297 N.W.2d 349, 353 (Iowa 1990). We decided in Heishman v. Jenkins, 372 N.W.2d 506 (Iowa 1985), that, notwithstanding legal infirmities in the alleged contemner's reasons for failing to abide the court's decree, a good-faith belief in those reasons may offer a valid defense to the claim that violation of the decree was willful. Id. at 510. We believe that the same considerations apply here. In order to resolve the issue of whether James's nonpayment of child support was willful on the evidence presented, the district court was necessarily required to resolve certain issues of fact. These included whether the agreement was as James contended it was, whether the delinquency on which the contempt citation was based occurred after the alleged agreement and in reliance thereon, and whether under all the circumstances presented, including the alleged agreement, the nonpayment was willful. Based on the conclusions we have reached, we believe that the writ of certiorari should be sustained, the finding and judgment of contempt vacated, and the matter remanded to the district court for (1) further findings of fact rendered on the existing record in accordance with the dictates of this opinion, and (2) newly issued findings and conclusions as to whether the evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that James was in contempt of the court's decree. WRIT SUSTAINED.