DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW NO LONGER REQUIRES EXHAUSTION OF ENFORCEMENT REMEDIES BEFORE A MOTION FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT CAN BE BROUGHT.

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined that plaintiff-husband’s motion to hold defendant-wife in contempt for failure to comply with the court’s order concerning the couple’s finances and debts should have been granted. Supreme Court denied the motion on the ground plaintiff had not exhausted other enforcement procedures. The Second Department noted that the Domestic Relations Law had been changed to remove the exhaustion requirement:

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Here, the plaintiff demonstrated that the defendant violated certain provisions of the separation agreement … . Through his affidavit, the plaintiff demonstrated that when the defendant took over management of [the couple’s business’s] finances following the sale of the marital home, she refused to pay off their joint credit card debt and did not share the proceeds from [the business’s] monthly rental income equally with him, thereby prejudicing his rights under the separation agreement … . Although the Supreme Court found that the plaintiff had not met his burden, in part, because he did not exhaust other enforcement remedies before filing the instant motion, we note that Domestic Relations Law § 245 was amended, effective September 29, 2016, to remove the exhaustion requirement (L 2016, ch 365, § 1). The Legislature directed the amendment to “take effect immediately,” and apply “to all actions whenever commenced as well as all judgments or orders previously entered” (id. § 2). Accordingly, the plaintiff’s failure to show that he exhausted other enforcement remedies before seeking to hold the defendant in contempt does not bar him from obtaining that relief. Cassarino v Cassarino, 2017 NY Slip Op 02623, 2nd Dept 4-5-17

FAMILY LAW (DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW NO LONGER REQUIRES EXHAUSTION OF ENFORCEMENT REMEDIES BEFORE A MOTION FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT CAN BE BROUGHT)/CONTEMPT, CIVIL (FAMILY LAW, DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW NO LONGER REQUIRES EXHAUSTION OF ENFORCEMENT REMEDIES BEFORE A MOTION FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT CAN BE BROUGHT)/DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW (DOMESTIC RELATIONS LAW NO LONGER REQUIRES EXHAUSTION OF ENFORCEMENT REMEDIES BEFORE A MOTION FOR CIVIL CONTEMPT CAN BE BROUGHT)