Suitor v. Suitor, 89-78
| Citation | 137 Vt. 110,400 A.2d 999 |
| Decision Date | 03 April 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-78,89-78 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Vermont |
| Parties | Betty A. SUITOR v. Frank SUITOR. |
Kolvoord, Overton & Wilson, Essex Junction, for plaintiff.
John H. Jackson, Burlington, for defendant.
Before BARNEY, C. J., and DALEY, LARROW, BILLINGS and HILL, JJ.
The parties instituted contempt actions against each other in the Chittenden Superior Court, alleging violations of child custody, visitation and support orders, contained in an amended decretal order dated May 30, 1975. The cause was heard on January 19, 1978, in the absence of the assistant judges upon the agreement of counsel and with the consent of the superior judge. Both parties were found to be in contempt, but no punishment was imposed. The defendant, however, was ordered to pay the sum of $1,217.50 in child support which the judge found to be in arrears. He was further ordered to send their minor child, who was living with him in Vermont, to the plaintiff for a month-long visit during the summer of 1978. The defendant appeals, contending that the judge abused his discretion in determining the so-called back support arrearages and in modifying the visitation period. We reverse and remand on jurisdictional grounds.
As previously noted, both contempt petitions were brought to the superior court and not to a single superior judge. See 12 V.S.A. § 122. A contempt petition is a proceeding in the original action. MacDermid v. MacDermid, 116 Vt. 237, 245, 73 A.2d 315, 320 (1950). Jurisdiction over the subject matter of a suit cannot be conferred by agreement or consent of the parties when it is not given in law. Gerdel v. Gerdel, 132 Vt. 58, 65, 313 A.2d 8, 12 (1973). The power of the court to deal with the subject matter of this controversy can be generated only by force of law, and it is unaffected by agreement or conduct of the parties. Lafko v. Lafko, 127 Vt. 609, 612, 256 A.2d 166, 168 (1969).
The superior court consists of a presiding judge and two assistant judges, any two of whom shall be a quorum. 4 V.S.A. § 111(a). Neither of the assistant judges participated in the hearing or decision of this matter. 4 V.S.A. § 112, as in effect when this cause was heard on January 19, 1978, authorized one judge to try and determine a pending cause only when the other judges were disqualified. No showing has been made here that the assistant judges were disqualified. It follows then that the superior judge, albeit the presiding judge, did not constitute...
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Lewandoski v. Vermont State Colleges, AFL-CIO
...and thus was without legal authority to dismiss his claim. In support of this contention, he cites the case of Suitor v. Suitor, 137 Vt. 110, 400 A.2d 999 (1979) (per curiam), and the rule that "[p]ublic administrative bodies have only such adjudicatory jurisdiction as is conferred on them ......
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Soucy v. Soucy Motors, Inc., 82-139
...(emphasis added). Pockette best implements this legislative mandate. The converse situation is true as well. In Suitor v. Suitor, 137 Vt. 110, 111, 400 A.2d 999, 1000 (1979), this Court reversed and remanded an order of the Chittenden Superior Court because the presiding judge acted on a co......
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Vermont Union School Dist. No. 21 v. H.P. Cummings Const. Co., 180-81
...trial, the court consisted of one presiding judge and two assistant judges as required by 4 V.S.A. § 111(a). See Suitor v. Suitor, 137 Vt. 110, 111, 400 A.2d 999, 1000 (1979). During the trial, however, one of the assistant judges suffered a stroke which rendered him incapable of continuing......
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deBeaumont v. Goodrich, 92-586
...subject matter of a suit cannot be conferred by agreement or consent of the parties when it is not given in law." Suitor v. Suitor, 137 Vt. 110, 111, 400 A.2d 999, 1000 (1979) (emphasis added). The majority abandons this longstanding principle even though doing so was unnecessary in light o......