In this earlier post, my current colleague Danny Spiegel (who was an NC Assistant Appellate Defender at the time the post was published), analyzed the law of civil contempt and concluded that “springing orders for arrest upon future nonpayment of purge payments in child support civil contempt proceeding without contemporaneous inquiry into ability to pay” are unlawful. https://civil.sog.unc.edu/civil-contempt-and-springing-orders-for-arrest/ In an opinion issued June 18, 2025, the NC Court of Appeals agreed with that assessment. Collins v. Holley, NC App. (June 18, 2025).
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Tag: ability to pay
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No Contempt for the Nonpayment of Money Without Actual Evidence of Ability to Pay
In 2015, I wrote two blog posts summarizing the law relating to the use of contempt to enforce orders to pay support. No Default Judgment in Contempt (May 1, 2015) and Contempt: Establishing Ability to Pay (May 8, 2015). Recent appellate opinions justify revisiting this topic.