IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 13-1195
Filed June 25, 2014
ROBERT L. HARRIS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR WOODBURY COUNTY,
Defendant.
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Certiorari to the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Jeffrey L.
Poulson, Judge.
Robert Harris challenges a district court’s finding of contempt in
connection with his dissolution decree. WRIT SUSTAINED.
John S. Moeller of John S. Moeller, P.C., Sioux City, for plaintiff.
Edward J. Keane of Gildemeister & Keane, L.L.P., Sioux City, for
defendant.
Considered by Danilson, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Mullins, JJ.
2
VAITHESWARAN, J.
Robert Harris challenges a finding of contempt.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Robert and Lauralei Harris dissolved their marriage after forty years. In
pertinent part, the district court awarded Lauralei seventy-two percent of Robert’s
Edward Jones IRA.
A qualified domestic relations order was entered, paving the way for funds
to be transferred to Lauralei. Approximately one month after the order was filed,
Lauralei applied to have Robert held in contempt for “refus[ing]” to sign and send
a required form facilitating the transfer.1
Robert failed to appear at a scheduled hearing. His attorney did appear.
The proceeding was not reported, and there is no indication that evidence was
taken.
Following the hearing, the district court issued a ruling noting that the
attorneys made “[p]rofessional statements.” The court found that Lauralei proved
contempt beyond a reasonable doubt based on Robert’s failure to “execute any
and all instruments necessary to transfer assets consistent with the Decree.”
The court stated Robert’s failure to execute the document “frustrated the transfer
of the Edward Jones retirement account.” The court proceeded to divide the
account between the parties.
Robert filed a petition for writ of certiorari, which the supreme court
granted. The case was transferred to this court for disposition.
1
Robert filed a similar application based on Lauralei’s claimed failure to meet her
alimony obligation. That application is not at issue here.
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II. Analysis
Robert contends the district court erred in finding him in contempt.
Contempt must be established by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. In re
Marriage of Jacobo, 526 N.W.2d 859, 866 (Iowa 1995).
In order to find a person guilty of contempt, a court must find
beyond a reasonable doubt that the individual willfully violated a
court order or decree. The contemnee has the burden of
demonstrating that the contemner had a duty to obey a court order
and failed to perform the duty. The burden then shifts to the
contemner to produce evidence which suggests he or she did not
willfully violate the order or decree at issue. However, the burden
of persuasion remains on the contemnee to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that the contemner willfully acted in violation of
the court order. Since the burden of persuasion remains on the
contemnee, even if the contemnee makes a prima facie case and
the contemner does not produce any evidence, the court must still
analyze the contemnee’s evidence to determine whether it
establishes a willful violation beyond a reasonable doubt.
Id. (citations omitted).
There is no record of the contempt proceeding that would allow us to
determine whether the district court’s finding of contempt is supported by
substantial evidence. See In re Marriage of Swan, 526 N.W.2d 320, 326–27
(Iowa 1995) (“If there has been a finding of contempt, we review the evidence to
assure ourselves that the court’s factual findings are supported by substantial
evidence.”). While the attorneys made professional statements, those
statements were not summarized in the ruling and no fact-findings were made in
reliance on those statements. Nor can Lauralei’s allegation in her application be
construed as evidence. Cf. Beyer v. Todd, 601 N.W.2d 35, 41–42 (Iowa 1999)
(“[O]nly admissions of factual matters made in pleadings, and not merely
allegations or statements of legal theories, are admissible as evidence.”). In
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sum, the absence of a record together with the absence of fact-findings
precludes a determination that the finding of contempt was supported by
substantial evidence.
Lauralei had the burden of persuasion. We are not convinced she made
out a prima facie case of contempt. But even if she did, Robert’s failure to
produce evidence to rebut her prima facie case did not absolve the district court
of its obligation to “analyze the contemnee’s evidence to determine whether it
establishes a willful violation beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jacobo, 526 N.W.2d
at 866.
We conclude the finding of contempt is not supported by substantial
evidence. Accordingly, we sustain the writ of certiorari.
WRIT SUSTAINED.