Lesser Known Contempt Defenses

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals decided Richards v. Chance located here.  The opinion deals with and has one of the one in depth discussions of the lesser known defenses to contempt namely lashes, waiver, estoppel, and the statute of limitations.  There is also an interesting discussion in the opinion that the chancellor did not find Ms. Richards in willful contempt but still found her in contempt.  There is still a line of cases that says contempt can only be willful but this case seems to find that a party can be found in contempt and forced to pay attorney's fees when there is a bona fide dispute about a court order.