A contempt action is a claim by one party in a case where the other party has not obeyed a court order.

A complaint for contempt can involve accusations of failure to obey an order involving custody or visitation, failure to pay child support or alimony, spending marital assets without permission of the court, or any other issue involved in divorce and paternity cases which was the subject of a court order.

In Massachusetts, a contempt action is started by filing a complaint in the Probate and Family Court which entered the order in question.  If the matter cannot be resolved, the party accused of the disobedience has the right to a full hearing.

Kerstein, Coren & Lichtenstein has extensive experience dealing with both the prosecution and the defense of contempt complaints.