Family Law: No Abuse Of Discretion In $200,000 Section 271 Sanctions Award Against Wife Even If Amount Includes Future Fees And Costs To Be Incurred As A Result Of Wife’s Conduct

The 4^th District Ordered A Remand, However, To Allow The Lower Court To Review The Award To Ensure It Is Limited Only To Attorneys’ Fees And Costs, And To Prepare An Order That Includes Information Regarding The Basis For The Sanctions Amount

            Family Code § 271 authorizes a court to impose attorney’s fees and costs as a sanction to encourage cooperation between the parties and attorneys where a party’s/attorney’s behavior is such that it unnecessarily increases the cost of the litigation or frustrates settlement of the case.  These sanctions are limited only to attorney’s fees and costs – whether already incurred or to be incurred in the future.

            Such sanctions, including future fees/costs, were issued in Menezes v. McDaniel, Case No. D074434 (4^th Dist., Div. 1 December 18, 2019) (unpublished), certified for publication on January 15, 2020, where Wife had failed – for years – to comply with the lower court’s order to transfer title of a property in Brazil to Husband.

            On appeal, the 4/1 DCA found no abuse in discretion with the lower court’s finding that Section 271 sanctions were warranted – nor with its decision to award both past and future fees/costs, connected with Wife’s failure to comply, as sanctions.  However, the 4/1 DCA was unable to determine from the lower court’s order whether the $200,000 improperly included Husband’s travel costs to and from Brazil and/or calculations for  vacation time Husband was forced to take to travel to Brazil to deal with the property transfer issue.  For that reason alone, remand was necessary to allow the lower court to review the award amount and to prepare an order clearly delineating the basis for the sanctions amount.