The recent Pennsylvania Superior Court case of Hopkins v. Byes reiterates that it may be appropriate for a trial court to order attorney fees against a party found in contempt for failing to follow a child custody order. Hopkins v. Byes is a custody case that arose in Erie County, Pa. The relevant facts of the case are as follows: Sonya Byes and John Hopkins Jr. are the parents of a 10-year-old child. In January 2006, the parties entered into a consent custody agreement giving Byes primary physical custody of the child and Hopkins partial physical custody (referred to as “visitation” in the opinion). In the parties’ agreement, it is stated that Hopkins’ Thanksgiving visitation was to be at “times by mutual agreement” and agreed upon visitation time with the child on Christmas and child’s birthday, which was just days after Christmas.
On Dec. 15, 2006, Hopkins filed a petition for contempt alleging that Byes refused to allow the child “to go with him on Thanksgiving Day.” The opinion states that: “Father filed his Contempt Petition in an effort to make sure Mother did allow the agreed-upon Christmas Day visitation.” Hopkins averred in his petition that he incurred $500 in legal fees in pursuing his petition.
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