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James-Dickens v. Petit-Compere

The mother was entitled to a hearing on the father's failure to pay child support after expiration of the underlying protective order, which provided for the support in question.

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We granted Zarifa James-Dickens’s application for a discretionary appeal from the trial court’s denial of her request for a hearing concerning Ralph Petit-Compere’s failure to pay child support. James-Dickens “the mother” argues that a hearing should have been held because child support arrears are enforceable after an underlying order has expired. We agree and reverse for further proceedings. As the father concedes on appeal, the facts are not in dispute. In October 2007, the mother petitioned the trial court for a 12-month temporary protective order TPO against Petit-Compere “the father” for stalking. After a hearing, the trial court granted the TPO and ordered the father to pay child support. During the term of the TPO, the mother filed several requests for contempt hearings concerning the father’s failure to pay child support. At three separate hearings, the trial court ordered the father to pay the amounts overdue. By the end of the TPO’s 12-month period, the father had accumulated over $4,000 in arrears.

On October 7, 2008, the mother filed another request for a contempt hearing. The trial court rejected the mother’s request on the ground that the TPO would expire before the hearing date. This appeal followed.

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