court order

[Denisem]

Hi

My ex and I were in court in Jan. I have several orders in my favor that he has NOT followed through on. One issue is my court costs. Now I must file a Contempt of Court. Will that cost me more money and if so can I ask for that as well?

I thought this was all over...I guess it never ends.

I am not going to use a lawyer for this...is it simple?

[logicalvelocity]

Denisem,

I corrected the typo

Contempt of court order are quasi criminal. Send him a letter first by registered mail asking that they comply with said orders along with a copy of the order or endorsement page from the record. If your request go rejected, it somewhat demonstrates willful conduct.

If you have no success with the letter, then definitely bring forth a contempt motion and refer to your letter, attach a copy to your affidavit as an exhibit.

I do suspect the court will not be too happy that the individual willfully disregarded their orders. Along with the contempt motion, request additional costs to bring forth the contempt. I do suspect the court will indicate specific terms in regards to the individual or they will face significant penalties.

lv

[Denisem]

email

Would email work in place of a letter?

[logicalvelocity]

Denisem,

I'm always skeptic of using email.

First, you have no absolute guarantee that they will receive the email.

Secondly, with no knowledge of them actually receiving the email, you have no knowledge that they actually read the correspondence.

The exception to above would be if they replied to the email. Some email programs offer received and read receipts if configured.

With registered mail, you have a tracking number which you can always refer to and print out a received receipt. I believe the cost of registered mail is around $8 per letter.

lv

[Denisem]

This Sucks!

So, we go to court...costly....an order is reached and now he just doesn't follow through.

What can happen if he is in Contempt? What can they do to ensure I receive payment?

I am so tired.....this is all so draining.

[logicalvelocity]

Denisem,

I agree, it does!

The order is an cost award from a previous proceeding?

You could represent yourself to save costs as the issue is simple. Before any motion to hear, you would have to schedule a case conference. I suspect the presiding Judge will want to know WHY the previous orders haven't been followed and the individual would have some explaining to do. Perhaps settlement would entail without the need for a contempt motion.

Before they are found in contempt, you have the onus to prove that they are willfully disobeying the order. They may have several valid reasons why they have not met their obligations to the order. One really doesn't know without disclosure.

Penalties for not following court orders can range from:

having their documents struck;
they could face an additional fine; and
the ultimate would be imprisonment.

No doubt it is frustrating. Significant many just give up on the process.

lv

[Denisem]

costs

The order is a cost award from a previous proceeding.
I am sending a letter to ex today through a courier.
If a case conference is the way to go that means this would be my third case conference. What a waste of court time and money.

I sent him an email as well as his lawyer. Ii did not hear from ex, but his lawyer emailed me back and informed me he no longer was retained by ex. Which is understandable as this was settled back in Jan.

Now it is a wait and see game.

Thanks LV

[Denisem]

update

I went to the court house to file a motion....there I was told this was to go to small claims court??? So, I am going to do that today.

LV: My lawyer agree's with you that this should be a motion for contempt of court. I don't know what to do....every time I call my lawyer it cost me more $$. I hope small claims works.

At the court house I was told that I already have the judgement so collecting is a small claims issue.

What do you think?

[logicalvelocity]

Denisem,

To me I thought it was always best to return to the same court that made the order especially if there is ongoing issues.

Small claims court is less formal and you could easily represent yourself. However, as mentioned you have a Judgment already. To me its a contempt matter and should be brought to the attention of the Family Court.

With small claims court your going to face fees.

see these pages.

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...sh/courts/scc/

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.o...c/b4aClaim.asp

lv

[Denisem]

Family Court

Family court told me they will only deal with support issues and the judgement I have is for cost. Small claims should work....let's see what happens.

Thanks LV

[Denisem]

update

I filed with Small claims and the next day recieved the cheque in the mail. I had to cancel the claim and did not get my cost for that back. I will eat the cost because I am just happy he sent the cheque.

I hope this is over now!

[logicalvelocity]

Denisem,

excellent news. Too bad you had to use such tool and absorb some cost to persuade the individual to pay up.

lv