IN RE MARRIAGE OF SHELLY DOWDEN-PARROTT AND RODNEY DOWDEN-PARROTT Upon the Petition of SHELLY DOWDEN-PARROTT, n/k/a SHELLY BUCKLEY, Petitioner-Appellee, And Concerning RODNEY DOWDEN-PARROTT, Respondent-Appellant.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 6-783 / 05-2139
Filed December 28, 2006
IN RE MARRIAGE OF SHELLY DOWDEN-PARROTT AND
RODNEY DOWDEN-PARROTT
Upon the Petition of
SHELLY DOWDEN-PARROTT, n/k/a
SHELLY BUCKLEY,
Petitioner-Appellee,
And Concerning
RODNEY DOWDEN-PARROTT,
Respondent-Appellant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Darrell Goodhue,
Judge.
Rodney Dowden-Parrott appeals from the district court’s refusal to find his
former spouse in contempt of court. AFFIRMED.
Eric Borseth of Borseth Law Office, Altoona, for appellant.
John Reich of Reich Law Firm, Adel, and Chad Boehlje of Boehlje Law
Firm, P.L.C., Pella, for appellee.
Considered by Huitink, P.J., and Mahan and Zimmer, JJ.
2
ZIMMER, J.
Rodney Dowden-Parrott appeals from the district court’s refusal to hold his
former spouse, Shelly Dowden-Parrott, now known as Shelly Buckley, in
contempt of court. We affirm.
I.
Background Facts and Proceedings
Rodney and Shelly were divorced in May 2004. When their marriage was
dissolved, the parties agreed they would have joint legal custody of their minor
children, Greg, born in 1990; Justine, born in 1993; and Matthew, born in 2001.
Shelly was awarded primary physical care of the children, and a visitation
schedule was established.
Rodney filed his first application seeking to have Shelly held in contempt
in August 2004. Following a contested hearing, a district court judge dismissed
the application.
In October 2005 Rodney filed another application to show cause asking
the court to hold Shelly in contempt for denying visitation, interfering with his joint
legal custody rights, and interfering with his right to telephone contact with the
children.
Following another contested hearing, another district court judge
declined to hold Shelly in contempt. Rodney has appealed from that decision.
II.
Scope and Standards of Review
Our standard of review in contempt actions is unique. In re Marriage of
Swan, 526 N.W.2d 320, 326 (Iowa 1995). When the district court finds a party in
contempt, we review the evidence to assure ourselves that the court’s factual
findings are supported by substantial evidence. Id. at 326-27.
3
A different standard of review applies on appeal when a district court
refuses to hold a party in contempt under a statute that allows the court some
discretion. Id. at 327. The statute involved in this case is Iowa Code section
598.23(1) (2005). Section 598.23(1) states that a person who willfully disobeys a
temporary order or final decree “may be cited and punished by the court for
contempt.” (Emphasis added.) Under a statute such as this, a district court is
not required to hold a party in contempt even though the elements of contempt
may exist. Swan, 526 N.W.2d at 327. Decisions regarding contempt are within
the sound discretion of the district court, and unless this discretion is grossly
abused, the decision must stand. State v. Lipcamon, 483 N.W.2d 605, 607 (Iowa
1992). With these principles in mind, we turn to the facts of this case.
III.
Discussion
Rodney first contends Shelly should be cited for contempt for denying him
weekend visitation with Justine on one occasion. The record reveals Rodney
was scheduled to have weekend visitation with the children commencing
August 26, 2005.
He did not have visitation with Justine because Shelly
permitted their daughter to accept an invitation to travel to Chicago to visit
relatives. The district court found Shelly committed a technical violation of the
decree, but declined to hold Shelly in contempt. Upon careful review of the
record, we find no reason to disagree with the court’s decision.
Justine, not Shelly, asked her father if she could go to Chicago with her
aunt to visit her cousins on the weekend in question. Justine had made similar
requests in prior years, but Rodney always denied the requests.
Shelly
communicated the scheduling conflict to Rodney in writing on August 24, 2005,
4
and verbally offered to make reasonable accommodations for Justine, including
offering Rodney additional visitation. In a letter dated August 25, 2005, Rodney
refused to make any accommodation for Justine’s wishes, and he made no
further attempts to resolve the matter. 1
Rodney contends the weekend he
missed was of particular importance because of a birthday celebration he had
planned for Matthew, Justine’s younger brother. However, the record reveals the
birthday celebration Rodney planned was actually the second such celebration
that week. Matthew’s birthday was Tuesday, August 23, and Rodney, Justine,
and Matthew celebrated Matthew’s birthday together during Rodney’s scheduled
visitation with the children on August 24.
The district court also heard evidence that prior to the weekend at issue,
Justine had missed scheduled visits with her father only on those occasions
when she had been ill. Shelly also testified that Matthew has not missed a visit
with Rodney since the parties divorced. Under all the circumstances of this case,
we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to hold
Shelly in contempt.
Rodney next claims the district court should have held Shelly in contempt
because she has denied his right to telephone contact with the children.
Rodney’s testimony regarding this issue was both conflicting and unconvincing.
Shelly denied ever failing to return phone messages or failing to tell the children
there had been a call from their father. The district court concluded Rodney did
1
Rodney claims to have mailed the letter for one-day delivery, but he produced no
evidence to support this claim.
5
not establish telephone contact was denied. Because the record supports the
court’s conclusion, we reject this assignment of error.
Rodney also claims Shelly should be held in contempt because she
violated the terms of the parties’ decree concerning joint custody in a variety of
ways. 2 The district court considered each of Rodney’s claims and concluded
they were either not supported by the evidence or were not serious enough to
warrant a finding of contempt. Once again, we believe the evidence supports the
court’s ultimate conclusions. Through his own behavior, Rodney has made it
nearly impossible for the parties to communicate in a manner that would give full
effect to the language of their dissolution decree. Rodney’s destructive behavior
has also adversely affected his relationship with his children. Rodney no longer
has a relationship with Greg, and Justine is afraid of him. Unfortunately, Rodney
appears more interested in escalating the conflicts he has with his former spouse
and children than eliminating them.
IV.
Conclusion
We find the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to hold
Shelly in contempt, and we affirm the court’s ruling. We award no appellate
attorney fees.
AFFIRMED.
2
Rodney contends Shelly signed Matthew up for preschool without discussion;
intentionally excluded him from the family history sheet when she registered the children
for school; interfered with his ability to obtain information from the school; failed to
provide him with information concerning the children’s education; and failed to advise
him that the children had been involved in an Iowa Department of Human Services
investigation.
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