Town of Nottingham v. Cedar Waters, Inc.

This is an appeal from a finding of contempt arising out of a dispute concerning enforcement of the zoning regulations of the town of Nottingham. We reverse the order below and clarify the distinction between civil and criminal contempt.

The defendant Cedar Waters, Inc., is the owner of a mobile home, located in the plaintiff town of Nottingham in an area that is zoned “residential agricultural.” The plaintiff sought to enjoin the defendant from maintaining a mobile home in the town without having it placed upon a “continuous permanent foundation of concrete or any other masonry wall” as was…