Justia Georgia Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Donald Greenwood and Joan Greenwood were divorced November 6, 2008. Pursuant to the divorce decree, the Husband was awarded the marital residence; however the decree required him to refinance the residence before October 1, 2009 in order to remove the Wife completely from the mortgage on the home; failing to do so under the decree accrued penalties payable to the Wife. The Husband did not refinance the home as required, and he did not pay the Wife any penalty. The Wife filed a motion for contempt on June 29, 2010. After a hearing, the trial court entered a final order September 21, 2010, holding the Husband in contempt for failure to pay the penalty. The court ordered that rather than as an immediate payment, the penalty would be converted into a lien against the residence. The court would not force the sale of the residence to remove the Wife from the mortgage. The Wife filed an application for discretionary review of the lower courtâs ruling. The Supreme Court found the trial court erred by improperly modifying the divorce decree by imposing the lien on the marital residence and by giving the Husband âa reasonable period of timeâ beyond October 1, 2009 to remove the Wife from the mortgage. The Court reversed the judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings.

Husband and Wife divorced in March, 2010; Wife filed a discretionary appeal with the Supreme Court seeking the inclusion of certain evidence and an award of attorneys fees. Wife maintains the trial court denied her the ability to present evidence pertaining to her husband's post separation adultery, income and assets before rendering its decision. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court's holding, finding no evidence of error in the records to grant Wife's appeal.