Leonard v. Leonard

The question for decision in this suit is whether or not a decree of contempt based on a petition for failure to pay installments of alimony is void because it contains no finding that the defendant was able to comply with the decree and wilfully refused to pay the amount in arrears. Our answer to this question is in the negative for reasons hereinafter expressed.

The wife sued her husband in 1956 for divorce and obtained a decree which among other things required the husband to pay $75 a month alimony. There were no children. On July 18, 1959, the wife filed her petition in which she made the…