Steele v. Steele

The defendant appeals an order of the Rut-land Superior Court finding him in wilful contempt for his failure to comply with the provisions of a divorce decree. The original divorce decree, issued on April 6, 1981, and based upon a stipulation of the parties, required the defendant “to pay and to hold the plaintiff harmless in connection with” a variety of obligations. Among them was a $7,000 debt to the Proctor Trust Company. As a consequence of the defendant’s failure to pay this debt, foreclosure proceedings were initiated by the bank against plaintiff’s home.

In the proceedings below,…