Martha Flowers (Hasenmueller) v. Steven Lee Hasenmueller

This is a contempt action arising out of a divorce. The parties’ final decree of divorce incorporated a marital dissolution agreement. The husband filed a petition for civil and criminal contempt against the wife for several alleged violations of the martial dissolution agreement. At the first hearing on the husband’s petition, the husband requested leave of court to amend his petition for contempt. Leave to amend was granted, and in light of the amendment, the trial court ordered a two-day continuance of the hearing. When the proceedings were reconvened, the trial court ruled that the wife had committed three violations of the marital dissolution agreement. The trial court awarded the husband $12,000 in attorney’s fees for prosecuting the contempt petition. The wife appeals, asserting that the trial court erred in granting the husband leave to amend his petition, finding that the wife violated the terms of the MDA, and in awarding the husband $12,000 in attorney’s fees. We affirm the grant of leave to amend the petition and the finding that the wife violated the terms of the MDA. However, the award of  attorney’s fees is vacated and the cause remanded for reconsideration of this issue.