City of Roswell v. Eller Media Co.

Although I agree with the majority that a trial court has discretion to determine whether its judgments and orders have been violated, a trial court nevertheless may not hold someone in contempt for conduct that falls outside the scope of and is not prohibited by a previous judgment. Because I conclude that is what occurred in this case, I dissent.

1. The trial court’s November 1999 judgment stemmed from litigation in which the appellants had relied solely on various ordinances to deny Eller Media’s application to construct and operate advertising signs. In that judgment, the trial court ruled…