Contempt of Court or not?

Can you just take 1.4 million dollars from a joint account with your spouse and leave Mississippi with no consequences?

Let’s find out.

Are There Contempt Of Court Consequences When You Take A Ton Of Money?

Tammy Gillen recently won a contempt of court case against her husband, Gregory Gillen, after he withdrew $1.4 million from their joint bank account and moved to Missouri without her knowledge.

Gregory Gillen was an employee of his Tammy’s business, J & J Tire & Muffler Inc., and had check-signing authority. In August 2018, he wrote two checks to himself from the J & J checking account, totaling $350,000, and he deposited those checks into the couple’s joint savings account.

He then wired the remaining $1,075,000 to his father, Keith Gillen, and moved to Missouri the next day!

I guess Gregory thought the long arm of the law would not catch up with him on a contempt of court motion.

Tammy Gillen filed for divorce shortly after her husband’s departure. She also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order that would require Gregory Gillen to return the $1.4 million.

A hearing was held in April 2019, at which Gregory Gillen revealed that he had approximately $800,000 in cash stashed in an undisclosed location.

Hiding the money is always a good choice. The trial judge won’t care about you hiding money, right?

The chancellor subsequently issued a temporary order requiring Gregory Gillen to deposit $1,000,000 into the court’s registry or face financial penalties.

Gregory Gillen failed to comply with the court’s order, and Tammy Gillen filed a contempt motion. The chancellor found Gregory Gillen in civil and criminal contempt, and he ordered him to pay Tammy Gillen $1.4 million in damages. Gregory Gillen appealed the decision, but the appellate court upheld the chancellor’s ruling.

This case is a reminder of the importance of following court orders. Gregory Gillen’s actions not only caused financial hardship for his wife, but they also resulted in him being found in contempt of court.

Contempt of Court is not a case you can handle on your own.

Contempt Of Court | Fugitive Dismissal Rule

So what’s the issue?

It’s called the “fugitive dismissal rule.”

Never heard of it?

Most people haven’t.

Here’s the legal mumbo jumbo:

In Weaver v. Parks, 947 So. 2d 1009, 1012-14 (¶¶5-11) (Miss. Ct. App. 2006), the Court applied the criminal “fugitive dismissal rule”
to a child-custody matter in which the father had absconded with the child and had refused to submit himself to the trial court’s
jurisdiction.

The Court explained,

Weaver has unmistakably ignored the orders of the chancellor in the proceedings below and even acknowledged this fact in his response to one of
Parks’s contempt petitions. Weaver remains at large with Chloe, their whereabouts and Chloe’s health status unknown. Weaver’s conduct to date leaves little doubt that he would not abide by an adverse ruling. Allowing Weaver to employ this Court’s resources only if the outcome is favorable to
him would be an affront to the dignity of this Court and would only encourage such behavior in the future. Simply stated, “we cannot permit Weaver to reap the benefits of a judicial system the orders of which he has continued to flaunt.

In another case, D.C. v. D.C., 988 So. 2d 359, 361 (Miss. 2008), the Court held, we find it would not serve the best interest of the children if we were to allow the mother, who has demonstrated a recurring disregard for the orders of the Chancery Court of Clarke County, to proceed with her appeal.

Guess where this is headed?

So what does the Court say?

Although this issue is not a custody matter, we find the fugitive dismissal rule equally applicable to the facts of this case. Greg, the appellant, absconded with over a million dollars in funds from a marital account.

He has refused to comply with the chancery court’s order to return the funds and to abide by the court’s ruling finding him in contempt for failure to
do so.

When a Court uses the words “refused to comply” with a Court Order you can bet that a contempt of court charge is coming.

As the chancellor noted at the motions hearing, “I think that two years ago Greg could have shown good faith and we could have moved this case forward with some even partial gesture of compliance, but instead he fled the jurisdiction. He has kept himself away.

Further, Greg has absented himself from this jurisdiction and has proven he will not comply with the chancery court’s orders. As the chancellor concluded in the July order, Greg and Kieth had the opportunity to defend by counsel, and could even have appeared in person to protect their own interests, but both elected not to appear or otherwise participate.

Accordingly, as in Weaver, we dismiss Greg’s appeal sua sponte.

What’s sua sponte mean?

It’s a fancy way of saying you lose Greg.

Go read my frequently asked questions about this when you get a chance.

Contempt Of Court | The Bottom Line

The bottom line is you just can’t take a ton of money from a joint account and just leave your wife. And you can’t represent yourself in a contempt of court case.

It’s impossible.

Get a lawyer.