Opinion ID: 1598067
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the chancellor abused his discretion in failing to grant a continuance where the defendant failed to produce financial records in a timely manner; failed to produce complete records; and ran his earnings and financial affairs through a maze of accounts, which deprived plaintiff of the opportunity to ascertain and present evidence concerning his earnings and earning capacity and disposition of a substantial sum of money during the separation of the parties.

Text: ¶ 6. The decision to grant or deny a continuance is within the sound discretion of the trial court.... Owens v. Thomae, 759 So.2d 1117, 1120 (Miss.1999); Red Enters., Inc. v. Peashooter, Inc., 455 So.2d 793, 796 (Miss.1984). Although Mr. Bresnahan was slow in providing his financial records, he did comply with the court's Opinion/Order of October 15, 1999. Both parties addressed this issue in their briefs, and as Mr. Bresnahan did come forward with the documents in question, we do not find the length of discovery to be a relevant reason for the chancellor to have granted a continuance. If Mrs. Bresnahan really believed that Mr. Bresnahan was not producing these records as a means to delay or obstruct the proceedings, then she should have requested a proper hearing before the chancellor when no documents were produced after she filed her second motion to compel. She could then have filed a motion for contempt when Mr. Bresnahan failed to either provide the documents or give an objection to providing them. Had Mrs. Bresnahan gone through the proper channels in the first place, she would have gotten all of the requested discovery materials in a more timely fashion and had plenty of time to review them before trial. Therefore, we do not find the chancellor's failure to grant a continuance to be erroneous.