IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 18-0603
Filed November 6, 2019
IN RE THE MARRIAGE OF MELINDA SUE RATH
AND KEITH ALLEN RATH
Upon the Petition of
MELINDA SUE RATH,
Petitioner-Appellee,
And Concerning
KEITH ALLEN RATH,
Respondent-Appellant.
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Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Benton County, Patrick R. Grady,
Judge.
An ex-husband challenges the district court’s refusal to hold his former wife
in contempt and the contempt finding against him. DIRECT APPEAL AFFIRMED;
WRIT ANNULLED.
Keith A. Rath, Cedar Rapids, self-represented appellant.
Caitlin L. Slessor of Shuttleworth & Ingersoll, P.L.C., Cedar Rapids, for
appellee.
Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.
2
TABOR, Presiding Judge.
Former spouses—Keith Rath and Melinda Gordon1—filed dueling
applications for orders to show cause why the other should not be held in contempt
for failing to comply with property provisions of their 2016 divorce decree.2 In a
single order, the district court declined to find Melinda in contempt but did find Keith
in contempt for failure to comply with the decree “with regard to two parcels of real
estate that were marital assets.”
Keith filed a notice of appeal from the district court order. That notice was
the proper mode of review for the dismissal of his application to punish Melinda for
contempt. See State v. Dist. Ct. for Polk Cty., 231 N.W.2d 1, 4 (Iowa 1975) (finding
Iowa Code permits appeal from the district court’s refusal to find a defendant in
contempt but writ of certiorari is the appropriate mode of review from an order to
punish a defendant for contempt). But a direct appeal does not lie from the order
to punish him for contempt; he must challenge those proceedings by petition for
writ of certiorari. See Iowa Code § 665.11 (2018); Dist. Ct. for Polk Cty., 231
N.W.2d at 4. When a party mistakenly files a notice of appeal instead of a petition
for writ of certiorari, “the case shall not be dismissed, but shall proceed as though
the proper form of review had been requested.” Iowa R. App. P. 6.108.
Therefore, to the extent this appeal challenges the propriety of the contempt
finding against Keith, we treat it as a petition for certiorari and our review is for
correction of errors at law. See State v. Keutla, 798 N.W.2d 731, 732–33 (Iowa
1
The appellee clarified in her brief that she was formerly known as Melinda Rath.
2
Our court affirmed the decree over Keith’s challenge. See In re Marriage of Rath, No.
16-0965, 2017 WL 3077959, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. July 19, 2017).
3
2011). Relief through certiorari is appropriate if the district court has exceeded its
jurisdiction or acted illegally. State Pub. Defender v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 745 N.W.2d
738, 739 (Iowa 2008).
After a careful review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable
law, we conclude the district court’s March 4, 2018 ruling (as amended on
March 22, 2018) should be affirmed without opinion. See Iowa R. App. P.
6.1203(a), (d).
We decline Melinda’s request for attorney fees. See Lane v. Oxberger, 224
N.W.2d 245, 247 (Iowa 1974). We assess costs on appeal to Keith.
DIRECT APPEAL AFFIRMED; WRIT ANNULLED.