Divorce; Child Support; Contempt; Arrearages; New Trial (Husband)
An ex-husband had accepted custody of his children from his ex-wife when the children became teenagers, and he discontinued his child support payments to her. Unfortunately, he did not petition the court to obtain approval of the custody change. Years later, the ex-wife had him held in contempt and he was ordered by a judge to pay his former wife $180,000 in child support arrearages. The Firm was retained by the ex-husband and a motion for a new trial was filed. At a hearing, the Firm convinced the Judge that the Judge had applied the wrong legal principles in arriving at the earlier judgment, and the Judge reversed the contempt ruling and granted a new trial for the Client. The matter was then settled without the expense of a trial and the case against the Client was dismissed.
