In re the Marriage of Lisa Moore and Dan Moore

Breckenridge, Colorado family law lawyers represented the parties in a divorce action.



Dan and Lisa were married in 1992. They separated in 2020, after almost twenty-eight years of marriage. The district court finalized their divorce and entered permanent orders in March 2022. As part of the permanent orders, the court ordered the parties to sell a Florida condominium, which they had valued at $1,850,000. The parties also agreed to use binding arbitration to resolve any dispute related to the sale of the condominium.



The president of the homeowners association eventually offered to purchase the condominium for $2,300,000. Lisa refused

to sign a document accepting the offer. When they could not reach a resolution, Lisa and Dan submitted the dispute to binding arbitration. The arbitrator's award, confirmed by a district court order, required Lisa to sign a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) to complete the sale of the condominium. Lisa did not sign the PSA, despite several extensions to the deadline.



Dan subsequently filed a motion to hold Lisa in contempt for disobeying the court's order that she sign the PSA. He initially requested remedial sanctions in the form of fines or incarceration, punitive sanctions for the attorney fees and costs he incurred as a result of Lisa's contemptuous actions, and the payment of future costs associated with the condominium if the sale did not go through.



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The court found that Dan had proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Lisa knew of the court’s order, had the ability to comply with the order, and chose not to. The court confirmed that Dan had withdrawn his request for remedial sanctions. The court noted, “As a sanction, [Dan] sought reimbursement for utilities, maintenance costs, homeowners association dues and special assessments paid solely by [him].”



The Punitive sanctions were vacated but the balance was affirmed.