Diana Lynn Nee Spears Carter, Plaintiff Below, Appellant v. Lonnie Elmer Carter, Defendant Below, Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed a circuit court's civil contempt order against a custodial mother who refused to allow court-ordered unsupervised overnight visitation, holding the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in finding her in contempt. However, the court found the immediate implementation of the two-year-old unsupervised overnight visitation order to be an abuse of discretion given the lapse of time since the father's last visit, and remanded for an expedited hearing to determine arrangements protecting the children's well-being while safeguarding the father's visitation rights. The court also discussed alternative enforcement approaches—mediation, family counseling, make-up visitation plans, and criminal contempt proceedings—that the circuit court should consider on remand.