WILL I BE HELD IN CONTEMPT IF I WITHHOLD MY CHILD DURING COVID-19

WILL I BE HELD IN CONTEMPT IF I WITHHOLD MY CHILD DURING COVID-19

One legal method of enforcing a possession order is filing a motion for contempt. A party may be held in contempt of court for willfully violating a court order. Usually, to hold a party in contempt, the party’s obligations under the court order must be clear and unambiguous. An ambiguity may be patent or latent. A patent ambiguity exists when the language of the court order as written is reasonably susceptible of more than one interpretation on its face.
A latent ambiguity exists when, even though the language of the court order is facially clear, that language may be reasonably applied in materially different ways to a particular set of facts. A fair argument can be made that the typical language for possession is ambiguous under the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 outbreak, meaning it cannot be enforced by contempt.

The sudden extension of school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak is a difficult and extraordinary circumstance that wasn’t contemplated when your possession order was made. Family court judges understand that. It is likely that they will not look favorably on parties who use this public health emergency to escalate high-conflict custody litigation.

Courts have considerable discretion enforcing their orders. It is not uncommon for family courts to refuse to hold a parent in contempt if a parent gives a reasonable explanation. While each family judge is different, it would not be surprising for a family judge to exercise restraint in exercising its contempt power under the unusual circumstances of this outbreak.