Spousal Maintenance Arrears: Judge Gets Tough

The case, Disanto v. Disanto, N.Y.L.J. 6/16/03, DOI; Vol. 229; Pg. 32, col. 6, involves a divorcing husband's flouting of court orders. The defendant was ordered to make monthly payments to plaintiff for maintenance, utilities, insurance and taxes, among other things, but had failed to do so for 54 months. This compelled the plaintiff wife to make this, her third, motion for a finding of contempt.

The defendant acknowledged his failure to make maintenance payments before the court, but claimed that any arrears owed should be offset by plaintiff's half of the proceeds of the sale of the marital real estate. The judge, noting that the total arrears accrued in accordance with the pendente lite order dated June 1999 had reached $240,391, refused to allow the offset suggested by defendant, as an adoption of this approach might “very well result in paying plaintiff with funds already belonging to her.” Accordingly, he awarded plaintiff judgment against defendant in the full amount claimed. In addition, because the defendant had systematically sold marital property notwithstanding a restraining order, the judge appointed a receiver to preserve the parties' remaining assets. He was unable, however, to hold defendant in contempt because in order to do so, there had to be a showing that the court's ability to enforce its judgment had been frustrated by defendant's actions; such was not the case here, where sufficient marital assets remained from which to satisfy the judgment, and a receiver had been appointed to prevent their dissipation.