Frank v. Glanville

HILL, Judge.

Defendant first assigns as error the order that he be imprisoned for civil contempt, contending that a person must possess the present ability to comply with the contempt order before he can be so imprisoned.

Our Supreme Court stated in Lamm v. Lamm, 229 N.C. 248, 250, 49 S.E. 2d 403 (1948) that,

Manifestly, one does not act wilfully in failing to comply with a judgment if it has not been within his power to do so since the judgment was rendered.

Lamm has been favorably cited in subsequent cases — Mauney v. Mauney, 268 N.C. 254, 150 S.E. 2d 391 (1966), and Cox v. Cox, 10 N.C. App.…