In Re Meyer

CAMPBELL, J.,

pro

tem.

Petitioner is in the custody of the sheriff of San Bernardino County under a judgment finding him guilty of contempt of court in failing to comply with an order directing the payment of alimony. On October 6, 1932', the trial court made its order as follows:

“Now, therefore, it is hereby ordered, adjudged and decreed, that the plaintiff, John F. Meyer, shall pay the Defendant the sum of Fifty dollars ($50.00) per month as and for her support

pendente lite,

said sum to be paid in bimonthly installments as follows: Twenty-five dollars ($25.00) forthwith and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) on the 5th and 20th day of each and every month, from and after the date hereof, commencing with the 20th day of October, 1932, until a further order of the Court in the premises.

“And it is further ordered, adjudged, and decreed, that said Plaintiff shall pay the Defendant, as and for her attorney’s fees herein the sum of One Hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) forthwith and an additional sum of One Hundred twenty-five dollars ($125.00) within sixty days from the date hereof, without prejudice to a further order of the court in the premises.”

[43]

Petitioner was not present in court when the order was made. He was represented by counsel, however. Petitioner was personally served with a copy of the said order on February 10, 1933, concurrently with an order to show cause issued on the same day, directing him to appear on the twenty-seventh day of February, 1933, then and there to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt of court for violating the said order. Petitioner appeared on the appointed day and after a hearing the court adjudged him guilty of contempt of court and remanded him to the custody of the sheriff of San Bernardino County, state of California, for a period of three days, and to and until such time as petitioner shall have paid all sums due pursuant to the order of the court made on October 6, 1932.

Respondent contends that mailing a copy of the order of October 6, 1933, to petitioner in Los Angeles, California, and a copy to petitioner’s attorney is sufficient service of the original order upon which to base a contempt of court. Chapter V of the Code of Civil Procedure, which contains all of the provisions relating to the filing and service of papers, provides in sections 1011, 1012 and 1013 for the service of various papers upon parties or attorneys, and the same chapter in section 1016 provides as follows: “The foregoing provisions of this chapter do not apply to the service of a summons or other process or of any paper to bring a party into contempt.” The code therefore specifically provides that before petitioner can be found in contempt of court he must be served personally. This section has been modified by the case of