Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: SC124878, Date: 2023-01-13 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: SC124878    Hearing Date: January 13, 2023    Dept: R

The OSC re: Contempt will not be issued.

As the court stated before, contempt is a criminal proceeding.  The request for an OSC must read like a criminal complaint.  It must be broken down by count; it must allege each and every element of the contempt.  Evidence should be appended to the request so that the court can determine whether a prima facie case has been made.  The current document is not in the proper form.

The court also strongly urges the parties to get this done.  Illulian lost the underlying case and he has been ordered to do certain things.  His seeming refusal to do them is not a good strategy.  While the court does not enjoy contempt proceedings, so long as Illulian faces no more then 180 days in jail the proceeding is a bench trial and the court will reluctantly conduct it.  The court hardly relishes such a trial, but if it is needed, Illulian and his wife both face potential fines or jail time.  The court is not required to order community service.

What needs to happen is just a modicum of cooperation.  Illulian needs to participate in the planning of the fence or, if he won’t do so, he needs to not stand in the way of erecting the fence.  It is just a fence, though.  The parties ought to be able to agree on it.  The court is, frankly, getting tired of this.  A few thoughts.  First, Illulian will ultimately have to bear the total cost of the fence.  $10,000 may be enough, but there are no guarantees.  That said, it is at a minimum a decent start for the fence and may well be enough.  If the tender came with no strings, plaintiff should take it.  Second, the court does not know about the tree, but it does need to be shaved.  Third, as to the location, it should be consistent with the underlying order. 

The court understands that there are approval requirements.  Defendant should cooperate to obtain that approval.

Let’s put this one in the rear view mirror.  Reasonable people ought to be able to have that fence built by now.