Court Opinion

ID: 9624278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 06:56:37.958421+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:05:42.298229
License: Public Domain

Judge Greene
dissenting in part.
I disagree with the majority that the party alleged to be delinquent in an action for civil contempt has the burden of proving his failure to make payments in compliance with a court order was not willful. I, therefore, respectfully dissent on this issue.

Civil or Criminal Contempt

Because of differences in “ ‘procedure, punishment, and right of review’ ” in actions for civil and criminal contempt, this Court must first determine when reviewing a contempt order whether the order evidences an adjudication of civil or criminal contempt. Bishop v. Bishop, 90 N.C. App. 499, 503, 369 S.E.2d 106, 108 (1988) (quoting O'Briant v. O'Briant, 313 N.C. 432, 434, 329 S.E.2d 370, 372 (1985)). In this case, plaintiff’s motion for contempt and the trial court’s contempt order do not state whether plaintiff’s contempt action is criminal or civil. I, however, agree with the majority that the order is for civil contempt. This is because the order allows the defendant to *80purge himself of contempt and be released from custody by paying funds into the court, and any funds paid into the court will be disbursed to plaintiffs attorney rather than to the court.1 See Bishop, 90 N.C. App. at 505, 369 S.E.2d at 109 (order for contempt is civil if the contemnor may “avoid or terminate his imprisonment by performing some act required by the court” and any funds paid by contemnor are disbursed to the movant rather than the court).

Burden of Proof in Civil Contempt

In McBride v. McBride, the North Carolina Supreme Court stated civil contempt proceedings are criminal in nature because a civil contempt hearing may “result in the incarceration of a[] . . . [contemnor] who is without the means to procure his release and who, absent those means, may be incarcerated for an indeterminate period of time.” McBride v. McBride, 334 N.C. 124, 130, 431 S.E.2d 14, 19 (1993). The McBride court stated that when contemnor “is jailed pursuant to a civil contempt order which calls upon him to do that which he cannot do[,] . . . the deprivation of his physical liberty is no less than that of a criminal defendant who is incarcerated upon conviction of a criminal offense.” Id. at 131, 431 S.E.2d at 19. It follows a contemnor who is incarcerated based on a civil contempt order is entitled to protections afforded alleged contemnors in actions for criminal contempt. When a show cause order has been issued in an action for criminal contempt, the burden of proof is on the party initiating the contempt action to prove the alleged contemnor is in contempt. See N.C.G.S. § 5A-15(e), (f) (1999). I, therefore, would hold the party initiating an action for civil contempt has the burden of proving the elements of civil contempt, including that the alleged contemnor’s noncompliance with the court order was willful.
Even if a civil contempt proceeding is not to be treated like a criminal contempt proceeding, I do not read the case law in this *81State to place the burden of proof on the alleged contemnor in a civil contempt proceeding. The trial court is required, prior to the entry of an order of civil contempt, to “find as a fact that the [alleged contem-nor] presently possesses the means to comply [with the underlying order].” Henderson v. Henderson, 307 N.C. 401, 408, 298 S.E.2d 345, 350 (1983); Lamm v. Lamm, 229 N.C. 248, 250, 49 S.E.2d 403, 404 (1948) (contempt order set aside because “no testimony was presented ... to establish as an affirmative fact that [the alleged con-temnor] possessed the means ... to comply with the order”). That finding must be supported by evidence in the record. Henderson, 307 N.C. at 409, 298 S.E.2d at 351. If the finding is not made or if made and there is no evidence to support the finding, the order of contempt “must be set aside.” Id. It, thus, follows there exists an affirmative duty on some party to present evidence the alleged contemnor has the present ability to comply with the underlying order and that duty necessarily rests with the movant.2
I acknowledge there are several cases, relied on by the majority, stating the alleged contemnor has the burden of proof in a civil contempt proceeding. Those cases, however, are inconsistent with the unequivocal teachings of Henderson and thus are not controlling.3 See State v. Adams, 132 N.C. App. 819, 821, 513 S.E.2d 588, 589 (court of appeals must follow decisions of supreme court), disc. review denied, 350 N.C. 836,-S.E.2d-, cert. denied,-U.S.-, 145 L. Ed. 2d 414 (1999). In any event, I believe those cases simply place the burden of production on the alleged contemnor in a civil contempt proceeding, not the burden of proof . See Hartsell v. Hartsell, 99 N.C. App. 380, 387, 393 S.E.2d 570, 575 (“In civil contempt the *82[alleged contemnor] has the burden of presenting evidence to show that he was not in contempt and [he] refuses to present such evidence at his own peril.”), appeal dismissed and disc. review denied, 327 N.C. 482, 397 S.E.2d 218 (1990), aff'd per curiam, 328 N.C. 729, 403 S.E.2d 307 (1991).
In this case, the trial court consolidated for hearing defendant’s motion to modify temporary alimony and plaintiff’s motion for contempt. The trial court’s order combines its findings of fact and conclusions of law for both motions, and it is impossible to determine from the trial court’s order on which party it placed the burden of proof for plaintiff’s motion for contempt. I, therefore, would remand this case to the trial court for a new hearing on plaintiff’s motion for contempt, with the burden of proof on the movant plaintiff.

. Although this Court is able to review proceedings in the trial court to determine whether an action was for civil or criminal contempt, it is the better practice for the trial court to require the movant to provide an alleged contemnor with notice of whether an action is for civil or criminal contempt. See Hartsell v. Hartsell, 99 N.C. App. 380, 395, 393 S.E.2d 570, 579 (Greene, J., dissenting) (“Allowing movant or the trial court to choose between civil contempt or criminal contempt based on evidence adduced during the course of trial does not provide the alleged contemnor reasonable notice and does not give him adequate opportunity to prepare and defend the action.”), appeal dismissed and disc. review denied, 327 N.C. 482, 397 S.E.2d 218 (1990), aff’d per curiam, 328 N.C. 729, 403 S.E.2d 307 (1991). An alleged contemnor, therefore, should object if the notice of hearing does not specify the type of contempt order sought by the movant.

. If the duty to present evidence was placed on the alleged contemnor and he failed to present any evidence, there would be no evidence in the record to support the entry of an order of contempt.
If the issuance of a show cause order in a civil contempt proceeding gave rise to a presumption, the alleged contemnor would have the burden of producing evidence “sufficient to permit reasonable minds to conclude that the presumed fact [did] not exist.” N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 301 (1999). If he failed to meet his burden of producing evidence, “the presumed fact [would] be deemed proved.” Id. Although there is no case law addressing the existence of a presumption in the context of civil contempt, the Henderson case implicitly rejects its existence. That court specifically held evidence was necessary to support the order of contempt and, had the movant been entitled to the benefit of the presumption, no evidence would have been required to support the order.

. In addition to opinions from the Court of Appeals, the majority also cites McBride in support of its holding that the alleged contemnor has the burden of proof in a civil contempt proceeding. McBride does not reach the issue of who has the burden of proof in a civil contempt proceeding.