Opinion ID: 1900982
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: Appellants challenge the jurisdiction of the trial court to order depositions, relying on Leftwich v. Leftwich, 442 A.2d 139 (D.C.1982). Therein the court disposed of two relevant proceedings. First, it reversed and remanded the March 17 property award. Second and more directly related to this appeal, the court reversed the November 6 order stating in a footnote: When this appeal was filed, the trial court became divested of jurisdiction of the case, See e.g., Morfessis v. Hollywood Credit Clothing Co., D.C.Mun.App., 163 A.2d 825, 827 (1960). Nonetheless, on November 6, 1980, the trial court entered an order which found the wife in contempt and purported to withdraw virtually everything which had been awarded to her. That order was appealed in No. 80-1314. By separate order, we summarily reverse the trial court's entry of that order. Id. at 146 n. 16. Appellants misconstrue our previous opinion. The jurisdiction that the trial court lost was the jurisdiction to modify its March 17 order; it did not lose jurisdiction to enforce that order. Quarles v. Quarles, 353 A.2d 285, 288 (D.C.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 922, 97 S.Ct. 321, 50 L.Ed.2d 290 (1976). The court accordingly had jurisdiction to permit discovery on the issue of whether appellants had violated the March 17 order, and thus the court also had jurisdiction to award sanctions against those parties who were found in violation of its discovery order.