Florence J. anderson v. Lamar anderson

DUNFORD, District Judge. A decree of divorce, based upon a stipulation provisionally settling property matters and child custody, was entered on September 26, 1949. Under the terms of the decree a tourist camp property situated at Phoenix, Arizona and belonging to the parties was to be sold and each was to have one-half of the proceeds. The plaintiffs half, with other properties distributed to her, was to be in lieu of all alimony. The defendants half was to be placed in trust in a Phoenix, Arizona, trust company and paid by such trustee to the plaintiff for child support at the rate of $250 per month. After the defendants half of the sale price was thus exhausted, the defendant was then to pay to plaintiff $200 per month as support money. Both parties were authorized to list the tourist property for sale after October 1, 1949. The property has not been sold. No effort was made in conformance with law to modify the decree. Rather, on August 11, 1952, new counsel for plaintiff filed a Petition for Order to Show Cause, which was unverified, and was unsigned by the plaintiff herself, which petition charged that the decree of divorce required the defendant to pay $200 per month as support money from the date of the decree, that $7,000 had become due to date, that defendant had paid only $2,420, and that he was then delinquent in the sum of $4,580 and that his failure was wilful. An award of $200 attorney fees was asked. The defendant, also by different counsel, by Cross Petition, denied that he was delinquent under the decree and set up the true terms of the decree as stated supra. Upon hearing, the trial court, on August 22, 1952, found defendant delinquent under the decree, sentenced him to serve thirty days in the County jail and provided that the sentence would be suspended by defendants paying the $200 which the court held that he was to pay under the terms of the decree and $100 to apply on delinquencies. $125 attorney fee was granted to plaintiff in addition to a judgment for a delinquency of $4,484.41. Service of the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Order were made by mail upon counsel for the defendant on August 26, 1952.