Joseph C. Sun, pro se, filed a complaint in Chatham County against Steven and Mary Girardot “the Girardots” to set aside a Newton County order, which held him in contempt of a permanent injunction entered in a lawsuit the Girardots previously commenced against Sun-Pacific Enterprise, Inc. “Sun-Pacific”, prohibiting Sun-Pacific’s transfer of certain realty located in Hall County. Sun appeals from the trial court’s grant of the Girardots’ motion to dismiss. He argues that the trial court erred in i finding that the contempt order was not void on its face given his lack of notice of the contempt hearing; and ii vacating and reversing the conveyances of realty to him upon such finding. Finding that Sun received notice of the contempt proceedings, and the trial court had personal jurisdiction over Sun to find him in contempt, we affirm. We apply a de novo standard of review to a trial court’s ruling on a motion to dismiss. See Alcatraz Media, LLC v. Yahoo, Inc ., 290 Ga. App. 882 660 SE2d 797 2008.
The record shows that the Girardots filed a motion for contempt against Sun-Pacific, Sun, individually, and Mei Wai Shek, individually, in Newton County Superior Court concerning Sun-Pacific, Sun, and Shek’s alleged violations of a permanent injunction order dated September 27, 2000 “former judgment”.1 On December 9, 2002, the trial court held a hearing on the Girardots’ contempt motion at which Shek was not present, and found that Sun-Pacific and Sun and Shek, individually, “knowingly, intentionally and willfully violated its former judgment,” which prohibited Sun-Pacific from conveying Lot 1 in the Costa Lanier Subdivision in Hall County to Sun. The trial court also held that Sun knowingly participated in Sun-Pacific’s fraudulent transfer of Lots 13 and 15 in said Subdivision to Sun “to specifically avoid Plaintiff’s $16,000 judgment,” also secured in the former proceedings. The trial court held both Sun and Shek in contempt, incarcerated them, and reversed the foregoing transfers of real property. According to the January 7, 2003 contempt order, a copy of the motion for contempt and rule nisi order were sent to Sun, registered agent of Sun-Pacific, and Shek, CEO of Sun-Pacific, by certified and regular mail. The two certified mailings sent to Sun at two different addresses in Gwinnett County, a post office box and a residential address, were returned unclaimed.
