Fourth DCA Case: Tressel v. Gatta

Do you have a West Palm Beach jury award that is not being paid?    Do you think that the defendant has the money to pay? Have you considered pursuing contempt of court for failure to pay? You may want to see what the Fourth District Court of Appeal had to say about failure to pay attorney’s fees in a case filed today.

Contempt of Court

• What is contempt of court?
• Contempt of court is a deliberate act of disobedience or disregard for the laws, regulations or decorum of a public authority such as a court or legislative body.
• Have you recently sued for breach of fiduciary duty in a Delray court?
• Have you received a judgment for tortious interference with testamentary expectancy?
• If the defendant is not paying despite having the funds an experienced Palm Beach litigator knows that a contempt claim may stand.
• Do you know what needs to be in your motion for contempt?
• Do you know how to prove that the person has the ability to pay?
• A court is not usually going to grant a motion for contempt if a defendant can prove they lack the ability to pay.

Tressel v. Gatta: Contempt and the Ability to Pay

• The court here denied the former husband’s motion for contempt against the former wife for failure to pay his award for temporary attorney’s fees. The appeals court held that the husband did have a burden to show that the wife had a source to pay for a contempt order.
• Do you know how to prove that your defendant has a source to pay for a contempt order?
• Can you subpoena their West Palm Beach bank records?
• What about Delray stock portfolios?
• Can you levy a lien on their Boynton Beach property if it’s just a vacation home?
• Palm Beach probate litigators know that sometimes securing a jury judgment is not enough and that assets need to be levied.
• Is your West Palm Beach attorney prepared to go after a defendant with the full force of a contempt order?

Want to learn more check out the whole case by clicking here.