St. Clair v. Bullock

EDMONDS, J.

The petitioner in this original proceeding seeks a writ of mandate to compel the respondent Judge of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County to settle a proposed bill of exceptions which was presented in connection with her appeal from an order made after final judgment in a divorce action. The judge refused to settle the bill and, upon motion of the defendant, made an order striking it from the files.

In 1934, Cordelia St. Clair sued her husband for divorce and thereafter secured a final decree in her favor which ordered the defendant to pay to her “as and for alimony and for the support and maintenance of the plaintiff, one-half of the earnings of the defendant during the period of five years beginning on the 20th day of July, 1934, and ending on the 30th day of July, 1939”. By an affidavit filed in January, 1937, Mrs. St. Clair alleged that her former husband was then indebted to her in the sum of $10,200, which had accrued under the terms of the interlocutory and final decrees of divorce, and the court made an order directing him to appear and show cause why he should not be punished for contempt of court in not complying with the terms of the decrees previously made. Later she filed an affidavit reciting that Mr. St. Clair owed her $9,012.50 for alimony. Upon this affidavit execution issued pursuant to an order of court therefor.

[452]

Mr. St. Clair appeared in the contempt proceeding and denied that he was indebted to the petitioner in any amount. He also moved to recall the execution. After various hearings the court, on September 8, 1937, made an order that “Malcolm St. Clair is not guilty of contempt of court, and that he was not on the 15th day of June, 1937, or at any time prior thereto, indebted to the plaintiff, Cordelia St. Clair”. A separate provision of the order is “that the executions heretofore levied . . . are hereby recalled and quashed, and the Sheriff is directed to release any and all levies made thereunder and to return all property held thereunder ... to the defendant Malcolm St. Clair”. On October 11, 1937, Mrs. St. Clair filed a notice of appeal from the order adjudging the defendant “not guilty of contempt of court, and that the said defendant was indebted to plaintiff, that executions levied . . . should be recalled and quashed and directing the Sheriff to release any and all levies made thereunder and adjudging that plaintiff is not entitled to any attorney’s fees or court costs”. The proposed bill of exceptions was presented as the record for that appeal.