Kaplan v. Schurr
After a defamation suit settled with a court-ratified agreement requiring the defendant to post a specifically worded apology online, the defendant repeatedly posted noncompliant versions and was found guilty of indirect criminal contempt. The Third DCA affirmed the contempt adjudication and $1,000 sanction but reversed the $28,246.50 award of attorney's fees and costs to the plaintiffs as 'restitution' for their counsel's work as court-appointed prosecutor of the criminal contempt.
Key facts
- Plaintiff Kaplan sued defendant Schurr for defamation; the parties settled with a court-ratified agreement requiring Schurr to post a specific apology online.
- Schurr repeatedly posted noncompliant versions of the apology instead of the court-ordered text, and the trial court found Schurr guilty of indirect criminal contempt.
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Why it matters
The opinion draws a clear, practical line between fee recovery available in civil contempt (compensatory fine for coercing compliance) and the absence of any fee entitlement in indirect criminal contempt, adopting Routh… — full analysis with a trial
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