 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Floyd v. Floyd6/13/2005
he United States Supreme Court.
Judicial sanctions in civil contempt proceedings may, in a proper case, be employed for either or both of two purposes: to coerce the defendant into compliance with the court's order, and to compensate the complainant for losses sustained. Where compensation is extended, a fine is imposed, payable to the complainant. Such fine must of course be based upon evidence of complainant's actual loss. . . .
United States v. United Mine Workers of America, 330 U.S. 258, 304-305, 67 S.Ct. 677, 701-702, 91 L.Ed. 884 (1947).
Therefore, the compensatory award should be limited to the complainant's actual loss. Included in the actual loss are the costs in defending and enforcing the court's order, including litigation costs and attorney's fees. The burden of showing what amount, if anything, the complainant is entitled to recover by way of compensation should be on the complainant.
Curlee, 277 S.C. at 386-87, 287 S.E.2d at 919-20; accord Cheap-O's Truck Stop, Inc. v. Cloyd, 350 S.C. 596, 567 S.E.2d 514 (Ct. App. 2002).
Further, this Court, in Harris-Jenkins v. Nissan Car Mart, Inc., 348 S.C. 171, 557 S.E.2d 708 (Ct. App. 2001), wrote:
Courts, by exercising their contempt power, can award attorney's fees under a compensatory contempt theory. Compensatory contempt seeks to reimburse the party for the costs it incurs in forcing the non-complying party to obey the court's orders. SeePoston v. Poston, 331 S.C. 106, 114, 502 S.E.2d 86, 90 (1998) ("In a civil contempt proceeding, a contemnor may be required to reimburse a complainant for the costs he incurred in enforcing the court's prior order, including reasonable attorney's fees. The award of attorney's fees is not a punishment but an indemnification to the party who instituted the contempt proceeding."); Lindsay v. Lindsay, 328 S.C. 329, 345, 491 S.E.2d 583, 592 (Ct. App. 1997) ("A compensatory contempt award may include attorney fees.") (citation omitted); Curlee v. Howle, 277 S.C. 377, 386-87, 287 S.E.2d 915, 919-20 (1982) ("Compensatory contempt is a money award for the plaintiff when the defendant has injured the plaintiff by violating a previous court order . . . . Included in the actual loss are the costs of defending and enforcing the court's order, including litigation costs and attorney's fees.").
Harris-Jenkins, 348 S.C. at 178-79, 557 S.E.2d at 711-12.
The trial judge awarded attorney's fees and costs to Anne not only as a sanction for Laurens' contempt, but also as "an award of damages to Wife and Bank for [Laurens'] breach of his fiduciary duty." Therefore, the law does not limit the award to actual damages flowing from Laurens' contempt. The portion of the sum that cannot be characterized as compensatory contempt--i.e., actual damages attributable to Laurens' contempt--is accounted for in the additional damages award. Although the fees were not awarded as attorney's fees per se, the trial court nevertheless analyzed the attorney's fee affidavits and found the fees reasonable pursuant to Taylor v. Medenica, 331 S.C. 575, 580, 503 S.E.2d 458, 461 (1998). Thus, we find no error in the award of $40,347.21 in attorney's fees to Anne to be paid by Laurens.
II. Admissibility of Letters
Laurens argues the trial judge abused his discretion in admitting into evidence letters written by attorneys Dial and Curry. First, he contends these letters constitute inadmissible hearsay because neither Dial nor Curry testified at the trial. In addition, Laurens maintains he had an attorney-client relationship with Curry, and therefore, letters written by Curry to Laurens were inadmissible pursuant to the attorney-client privi
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 South Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|