Greene v. Greene

The Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of the wife's contempt motion against her ex-husband for exposing the parties' daughter to Christianity in violation of the terms of their settlement agreement, which gave the wife sole final decision-making authority with respect to religious matters.

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Mark Carroll Greene “Husband” and Alla Yuriyevna Greene “Wife” were divorced by the Superior Court of Gwinnett County on September 14, 2005, when the court entered a Final Judgment and Decree of Divorce, which incorporated a Settlement Agreement negotiated by the parties. These appeals involve the trial court’s grant of Wife’s motion for contempt against Husband for violating the Settlement Agreement. In Case No. A10A1463, Husband appeals the trial court’s order finding him in contempt, and in Case No. A10A1464, Wife appeals the trial court’s failure to find Husband in willful contempt.1 We consolidate these appeals for disposition in a single opinion. A10A1463

1. In two related enumerations of error, Husband argues that the trial court erred when it found him in contempt of a provision in the Settlement Agreement that gave Wife final decision-making authority on matters related to religion. He contends that the court’s ruling restricted his freedom to share his religious beliefs with his child and was overly broad. A trial court has broad discretion to determine whether a decree has been violated,2 and “such determination will not be disturbed on appeal in a contempt case in the absence of an abuse of discretion,”3 which we do not find in the instant case. Settlement agreements in divorce cases must be construed in the same manner and under the same rules as all other contractual agreements. It is general contract law in Georgia that parties are free to contract about any subject matter, on any terms, unless prohibited by statute or public policy, and injury to the public interest clearly appears.4 The parties have one daughter, who was born on September 15, 2001. Wife is Jewish, and Husband is Christian. In the Settlement Agreement, the parties agreed that they would share joint legal custody of the child and that Wife would be the child’s primary and sole physical custodian. The provision at issue states, in pertinent part, that:

Greene v. Greene

The Court of Appeals affirmed the grant of the wife's contempt motion against her ex-husband for exposing the parties' daughter to Christianity in violation of the terms of their settlement agreement, which gave the wife sole final decision-making authority with respect to religious matters.

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