Amber Gascho v. Global Fitness Holdings

OPINION

THAPAR, Circuit Judge.

The contempt power ensures that the judiciary’s mandates are authoritative rather than advisory. But an imperious judiciary is just as problematic as a powerless one. So the contempt power is limited: A party cannot be-held in contempt unless it has violated a definite and specific court order. Exactly when a court order becomes definite and specific is the question of this appeal.

I

Global Fitness Holdings (“Global Fitness”) owned and operated a number of gyms. The plaintiffs were members of those gyms and believed that Global Fitness misrepresented the terms of…