TN Dad’s Angry Facebook Post Didn’t Warrant Being Jailed for Contempt
Tennessee child custody case summary on contempt.
The husband and wife in this Shelby County, Tennessee, case were married in 2004, had a child the same year, and divorced in 2017. Much litigation followed, which included a 2020 order requiring the father to cease and desist any communication with the child’s school. That order was appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, but the portion regarding contact with the school remained in effect.
While that appeal was still pending, the mother brought a petition for criminal contempt against the father. This was based on fourteen posts he made on his Facebook page. The father was found guilty of one count for a violation of communication with the school. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, and he brought another appeal to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
After setting forth the elements of criminal contempt, the appeals court turned to the facts of the case. It first noted that the order the father was alleged to have violated was, indeed, a lawful order.
But the order must also be clear and unambiguous. Here, the order stated that the father must not communicate with the school or the diocese regarding any matter concerning the child, “including sending emails or making posts on social media.” Here, the court noted that the communication must be a “matter concerning the child.”
The Facebook post in question was that the school superintendent “weaponized attorneys against me when I reached out to her about child abuse I witnessed at her school.”
The lower court found that this referred to the child, because it didn’t speak broadly about the schools. It also noted that it was posted for the superintendent to see.
But the appeals court disagreed. It noted that the lower court had found that the post talked about the superintendent, and was not a “matter concerning the minor child.” Therefore, the appeals court reversed the holding of criminal contempt.
The father did request attorney’s fees. However, the appeals court noted that while the Facebook posts did not rise to the level of contempt, they were evidence of lack of good faith on his part. Therefore, it denied his request for fees. It did, however, reverse the lower court’s award of attorney’s fees to the mother.
For these reasons, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the case.
No. W2022-00194-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 19, 2023).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
