Court Opinion

ID: 9848882
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:29:13.409387+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:51.791982
License: Public Domain

CADY, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I respectfully dissent to that portion of the opinion of the majority that annuls the writ of certiorari. I would grant the writ and reverse the finding of contempt by the district court. In my view, no person should be found in contempt of court for failing to comply with a court order when that person reasonably relied, in good faith, upon the erroneous advice of counsel that the order had been stayed by court rule and did not need to be followed. I otherwise concur in the opinion of the majority.
Courts are given the power to punish for contempt only if the disobedience of a court order was willful. This requires evidence that the conduct was “intentional and deliberate with a bad or evil purpose, or wanton and in disre[spect] [to] the rights of others, or contrary to a known duty, or unauthorized, coupled with an unconcern whether the contemner had the right or not.” Christensen v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 578 N.W.2d 675, 678 (Iowa 1998) (citations omitted). Proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt. French v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 546 N.W.2d 911, 914 (Iowa 1996). The standard is high, because the consequences can be great.
The majority concludes substantial evidence supports the district court’s finding of willfulness. Yet, evidence is substantial only when reasonable minds could accept it as adequate to reach the same result. Hendricks v. Great Plains Supply Co., 609 N.W.2d 486, 490 (Iowa 2000).
In this case, the evidence is undisputed that Titan’s attorneys told Titan officials that an automatic stay of the court order was in effect and it was unnecessary for Titan to comply with the order. In fact, when the investigators arrived at the plant to inspect the premises pursuant to the court order, a Titan representative gave the inspectors a document that said:
We have filed an appeal with the Iowa Supreme Court. We have asked for a stay. We believe we have an automatic stay for 10 days.
This document was written by one of Titan’s own attorneys, who mistakenly believed Iowa’s appellate rules followed the federal appellate rules which provide for a ten-day stay following the filing of a notice of appeal. The document was admitted into evidence at the contempt hearing, and a Titan official provided further evidence confirming the reason for its failure to comply with the order. Moreover, the investigators who arrived at the plant pursuant to the order all testified the Titan official refused to comply with the order based upon the claim of a stay.
The majority claims substantial evidence exists to support a finding of contempt by quoting from the testimony of the commissioner of labor, who had accompanied the investigators to the plant. This testimony, however, misses the point and establishes nothing. Even though Titan knew its refusal was contrary to the court order, it believed, in good faith, that the order was not in effect.
It is important to recognize that the refusal to comply with the court order did not go to the merits of the dispute, but was strictly procedural. Titan believed the court’s own rules had stayed the effect of the order. Thus, it was reasonable for Titan not to comply with the order. Furthermore, the noncompliance was in good faith, and the district court had no basis in *135law or fact to reject the evidence. There was no evidence to even suggest that Titan’s attorneys never told Titan the order had been stayed. Thus, the district court had no basis to reject Titan’s claim based on a conflict in the evidence or for any other reason. An attorney is ethically bound only to present evidence at a court hearing that is based in fact. See DR 7-102(A)(4) (attorney shall not knowingly use false evidence); DR 7-106(0(1) (attorney shall not mention any matter “that will not be supported by admissible evidence”). Attorneys are officers of the court. Comm. on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Humphrey, 377 N.W.2d 643, 648 (Iowa 1985); In re Inquiry Concerning Eads, 362 N.W.2d 541, 551 (Iowa 1985). These precepts are especially relevant when an attorney presents a witness to the court who testifies to advice the attorney gave to the witness.
We have previously indicated that advice of counsel is not a defense to a contempt action. See Palmer College of Chiropractic v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 412 N.W.2d 617, 621 (Iowa 1987) (where record did not detail the specific advice provided by counsel). However, this does not mean proof of willfulness to support contempt is not needed when noncompliance with an order is based upon the advice of counsel.
As a matter of law, Titan could not have contemptuously violated the court order in this case. See Mellor v. Cook, 597 P.2d 882, 884 (Utah 1979) (no willful disobedience to support contempt by school board for holding a meeting in violation of a court order where the board had been advised by its attorney that the order was not valid). The advice of counsel in this case did not relate to a refusal to comply with the court order, but related solely to the existence of court rules that excused performance. Under our system of justice, litigants should be entitled to rely upon their attorneys’ advice under such circumstances without being subjected to punishment for contempt of court.
Courts are given the power of contempt to protect and uphold the integrity of the court system. Haines v. Dist. CL, 199 Iowa 476, 481, 202 N.W. 268, 270 (1925). This purpose was not accomplished in this case. It is simply unfair to criminally punish a litigant for the good faith, procedural mistakes of counsel, and to do so only undermines public confidence in the legal profession and our system of justice itself.
NEUMAN and TERNUS, JJ., join this consent in part and dissent in part.