Opinion ID: 1179517
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: nature of the contempt

Text: Our analysis of the facts of consequence in light of the factors and caveats which come into play requires us to conclude that the substance of the contempts in this case was criminal in nature, despite the district court's characterizing it as civil in nature. A. In what manner did the contempts happen? The contemnors' alleged conduct was blocking a highway which impeded the travel of Decker's employees to the mine and damaging Decker's property. The district court's preliminary injunction commanded the unions and their members not to do those particular acts. Therefore, the alleged contemptuous conduct was the doing of the very acts which the district court had forbidden. B. What was the substance of the proceeding? Decker, a private party, initiated the contempt proceeding by filing a motion seeking the district court's show cause order. In that motion, Decker recited the alleged contemptuous conduct and then stated Defendants have committed a contempt of the authority of this Court, and that Plaintiff has been damaged in the sum of $6,725.67   . In the motion's prayer for relief, Decker asked the district court for a show cause order requiring the contemnors to show cause why they should not be held in civil contempt of this Court, for its judgment that the contemnors were in contempt of court for having violated the injunction, for its order that they purge themselves of contempt by paying Decker $6,725.67, together with all costs including reasonable attorney's fees, and for its punishment of the contemnors for their contempt in such manner as the Court deems just and proper. After the district court issued its show cause order and conducted the hearing, it announced it had found the contemnors in civil contempt of the injunction. In its oral announcement to the parties at the hearing's conclusion, the district court said the object of the demonstration, to prevent Decker vehicles from going to the mine, was in direct violation of this Court's order; the demonstration was arranged by UMWAI and the Local in direct violation of the Order of this Court; that a Decker pickup truck was damaged by people participating in this demonstration at the behest of the Local and of [UMWAI], so I'm going to assess damages    of $6,725.67 and that attorney fees will be added to that sum. The district court assessed each individual a $100 fine suspended on the condition that there is no further violation by any of those individuals of the Preliminary Injunction   . These facts persuade us that the substance of the contempt proceeding was to punish the contemnors for committing direct violations of the district court's injunction and to provide compensation to Decker as a private litigant for its property damage by the contemnors during their direct violation of the injunction. Where both criminal and civil relief are imposed in the same proceeding, as here, we recognize that the criminal feature of the [contempt] order is dominant and fixes its character for purposes of review. Connors, 769 P.2d at 345 (quoting Hicks, 485 U.S. at ___, 108 S.Ct. at 1433 n. 10, 99 L.Ed.2d at 736). Decker's having initiated the contempt proceeding does not alter that which is found to have been criminal in nature. Anderson, 667 P.2d at 663. That the district court ordered UMWAI and the Local to make the contempt payment of damages to Decker, a private party, does not alter that which is found to have been criminal in nature. Id. Finally, the district court's having suspended the determinate punishment of a $100 fine upon the condition of the individual contemnors' obedience of the court's orders does not make the punishment civil in nature because a suspended punishment, without more, remains determinant. Hicks, 485 U.S. at ___, 108 S.Ct. at 1433, 99 L.Ed.2d at 736 n. 11; and Garber, 524 P.2d at 579. C. What kind of punishment was imposed? As previously mentioned, in its contempt order the district court imposed on each individual a $100 fine and awarded Decker a judgment against UMWAI and the local for damages in the amount of $6,725.67, plus Decker's attorneys' fees. In our view, the district court imposed both punitive and remedial punishment against the contemnors. The $100 fine against the individuals was punitive. The $6,725.67 damages award, plus attorneys' fees, against the unions was both remedial and punitive. The attorneys' fees assessment seems more punitive than remedial in nature, considering that a court in a civil action may not award attorney's fees to the prevailing party in the absence of a contract or specific statutory provision. NL Industries, Inc. v. Dill, 769 P.2d 920 (Wyo. 1989). The parties here had no such contract. The statute governing penalties which may be imposed for disobedience of an injunction does not contain any provision for the award of attorney's fees. W.S. 1-28-107 (June 1988 Repl.) As we said before, where both criminal and civil relief are imposed in the same proceeding, the criminal feature is dominant and determines its character for purposes of review. Connors, 769 P.2d at 345 (quoting Hicks, 485 U.S. at ___, 108 S.Ct. at 1433 n. 10, 99 L.Ed.2d at 736. D. For what reasons did the court impose that kind of punishment? The district court imposed the $100 fine and the attorneys' fees assessment to vindicate the court's authority and to punish the contemnors for completed acts of direct disobedience to the court's injunction. The district court awarded property damages to compensate Decker as a private litigant. For purposes of review, the criminal feature is dominant. Id.