Shebelskie v. Brown ( 2014 )


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  • PRESENT: Kinser, C.J., Millette, Mims, McClanahan, JJ., and
    Lacy, S.J.
    MICHAEL R. SHEBELSKIE, ET AL.
    OPINION BY
    v.   Record No. 130503             CHIEF JUSTICE CYNTHIA D. KINSER
    January 10, 2014
    LARRY E. BROWN
    FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND
    Margaret P. Spencer, Judge
    Michael R. Shebelskie and William H. Wright, Jr., both of
    whom are licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth, appeal
    the circuit court's judgment sanctioning them pursuant to Code
    § 8.01-271.1.    We conclude that Shebelskie did not violate Code
    § 8.01-271.1 because he neither signed the "Brief in Response to
    Show Cause Order" (Show Cause Response Brief) nor made a motion
    under the terms of that statute.    Likewise, we conclude that
    Wright did not violate the statute because he could have formed,
    after reasonable inquiry, the belief that the Show Cause
    Response Brief and the arguments set forth therein were
    warranted under existing law.   Thus, the circuit court abused
    its discretion, and we will reverse its judgment.
    I.   FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
    Shebelskie and Wright represented Betty G. Brown in a suit
    filed in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond by her ex-
    husband Larry E. Brown, seeking partition and judicial sale of
    real property located in the City of Richmond. 1   After extensive
    litigation concerning the sale of the property, the circuit
    court confirmed the sale pursuant to a 2008 real estate purchase
    contract (the Contract).   Subsequently, the purchasers,
    intervening in the partition suit, filed a joint motion with
    Betty asking the circuit court to approve assignment of the
    Contract to Betty.   In an order dated April 26, 2011, the
    circuit court granted the motion and directed Betty to close on
    the purchase of the property no later than May 5, 2011.    Among
    other things, the April order stated: "[Betty] is to pay all
    costs and attorneys' fees incurred by [Larry] for this matter,
    including costs and expenses and fees for the April 25, 2011 and
    April 26, 2011 hearings, and an additional $12,500." 2
    The following day, Wright asked Larry's counsel the amount
    of attorney fees and costs incurred for the April 25 and April
    26 hearings.   Larry's counsel responded that the total amount
    1
    The parties were divorced pursuant to a "Final Judgment of
    Dissolution of Marriage" entered in the State of Florida.
    2
    The hearings on April 25th and 26th concerned the joint
    motion to assign the Contract.
    While the assignment of the Contract and sale of the real
    property were pending, Betty offered to relieve Larry of his
    obligation to make a monthly temporary alimony payment required
    by their final divorce judgment in the State of Florida. The
    circuit court rejected the offer and instead ordered Betty to
    pay the sum of $12,500 to Larry.
    2
    was $3,815.50. 3   Betty closed on the real property on May 5 in
    accordance with the terms of the April order but did not submit
    any payment to Larry at that time.
    Following the closing on the real property, Wright
    suggested to Larry's counsel that the attorney fees and costs
    due under the April order, including the $12,500, be offset from
    money owed by Larry to Betty in connection with their divorce.
    Larry rejected the proposal, stating that he "prefer[red]
    compliance with the [April order]."    About two weeks later, in
    the absence of any payment from Betty, Larry filed a motion for
    the issuance of a rule to show cause as to why Betty should not
    be held in contempt for failure to pay the attorney fees, costs,
    and the $12,500 according to the April order.    On August 1,
    2011, the circuit court issued a rule to show cause and ordered
    Betty to appear in court to explain why she should not be held
    in contempt.
    In the Show Cause Response Brief signed by Wright, he
    argued, on behalf of Betty, that the April order was "not yet
    final, making it unclear that [Betty] ha[d] any current
    obligation to pay."    Citing Winn v. Winn, 
    218 Va. 8
    , 
    235 S.E.2d 307
    (1977), Wright stated that contempt only lies for failing to
    comply with an order's definite terms and that the order must
    3
    Larry claimed attorney fees and costs from the date of
    Betty's motion to assign the Contract, not just for the hearings
    on April 25 and April 26.
    3
    contain an express command rather than an implied one.
    According to Wright, the April order did not "set any deadline
    for payment and [said] nothing whatever about the manner in
    which the payment [was] to be made."    Wright contended that
    Betty's proposal to offset the amounts due under the April order
    from sums Larry owed to her was simply a different manner of
    payment and was consistent with the April order.    Moreover,
    Wright argued, the order failed to specify the total amount due.
    At an August 25, 2011 hearing on the rule to show cause,
    Shebelskie argued, on behalf of Betty, that the April order
    specified neither a "particular date" by which Betty had to pay,
    nor "a dollar amount" due. 4   Shebelskie pointed out that Betty
    had discussed the amount and method of payment with Larry,
    making clear that she was not simply ignoring the April order.
    Shebelskie also contended that because the April order lacked
    specificity with respect to the date due and the amount owed, it
    was an interlocutory order for which there was no current
    obligation to pay.   In conclusion, Shebelskie argued that for
    contempt to lie, "[t]he order must obviously be a present
    obligation that's clear and definite.    Here, we don't have that
    4
    Prior to the hearing on the rule to show cause, Betty paid
    Larry the $12,500 required by the April order, plus the
    $3,815.50 in attorney fees and costs claimed by Larry's counsel,
    and asked in a pleading signed by Wright that the circuit court
    declare the issue of contempt moot. At the hearing, the circuit
    court rejected Betty's request.
    4
    because we didn't have the attorney's fees amount quantified, a
    date certain to pay, nor was it a final judgment."
    In response, the circuit court stated:
    The [c]ourt finds the argument that there is
    no requirement to comply with interlocutory
    orders . . . at best novel and interesting,
    at worst a possible violation of [Code §]
    8.01-271. . . . [T]his [c]ourt has never
    heard the argument from any attorney that
    the fact an order is preliminary [means]
    there's no requirement to comply with it.
    I'm going to take this matter under
    [advisement] because there's a possible
    [Code §] 8.01-271 violation.
    The following day, Shebelskie sent the circuit court a
    letter, citing authorities to "establish the good faith basis of
    [Betty's] position."   In the letter, Shebelskie disavowed
    claiming "that no interlocutory order is enforceable by
    contempt."   Instead, Shebelskie stated that the argument was
    that the April order was not enforceable by contempt because it
    failed to specify the amount owed and the date due and thus
    lacked "definite terms as to the duties."   Absent these
    specifications, Shebelskie contended, the April order was "a
    general damages award that becomes due upon entry of a final
    order."
    On November 7, 2011, the circuit court entered an order
    that exonerated Betty of contempt because she had paid Larry.
    The court found, however, that Betty's
    5
    counsel violated [Code] § 8.01-271.1 by
    arguing in August 2011 – both in writing and
    orally – that [Betty] did not have to comply
    with the April 2011 [o]rder because it did
    not state payment had to be in cash, did not
    set a date or deadline for payment, and was
    an interlocutory order.
    The court concluded that the reasons asserted by Wright and
    Shebelskie as to why Betty should not be held in contempt were
    "neither well grounded in fact, nor warranted by existing law or
    a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or
    reversal of existing law, in violation of [Code] § 8.01-271.1."
    The court ordered that "Defendant's counsel" pay Larry's costs
    and attorney fees associated with compliance with the April
    order, as well as those incurred in the contempt proceedings.
    Shebelskie and Wright, now represented by counsel, filed a
    motion asking the circuit court to reconsider its finding that
    they had violated Code § 8.01-271.1.   Concerned that the court
    had misunderstood the argument they had made on behalf of Betty,
    Shebelskie and Wright stressed that their argument was not that
    Betty did not have to comply with the April order, but rather
    that she could not be held in contempt because the April order
    did not specify both an amount due and a payment date.
    Shebelskie and Wright also pointed out that the court's November
    order failed to identify the attorneys and the pleadings that
    formed the basis of the court's finding of a Code § 8.01-271.1
    violation.   They asserted that because the November order held
    6
    "Defendant's counsel" in violation of Code § 8.01-271.1, it
    improperly included non-signatory attorneys listed on pleadings
    and attorneys who appeared on behalf of Betty but made no oral
    motions.
    The circuit court denied the motion for rehearing in an
    order dated November 28, 2011. 5   In November 2012, the circuit
    court held a hearing to address both the amount of sanction to
    be imposed and the contention that it was unclear which attorney
    was the subject of the sanction.       Shebelskie and Wright argued
    that Wright alone signed a pleading that fell within Code
    § 8.01-271.1.   They also asserted that neither attorney made an
    oral motion but, instead, only presented oral arguments in
    response to the show cause order.
    In a final order entered on December 12, 2012, the circuit
    court held that the sanction was imposed against both Shebelskie
    and Wright.   "These two attorneys," the court stated, "argued,
    both in [the] Brief in Response to . . . Show Cause Order and at
    the August 25, 2011 hearing, that [Betty] did not have to comply
    with the [c]ourt's April 26, 2011 [o]rder for a number of
    reasons."   Pursuant to Code § 8.01-271.1, the court imposed
    sanctions in the amount of $12,605.33, the sum requested by
    5
    The circuit court withheld imposition of sanctions
    pending an appeal to this Court. Because there was no final,
    appealable order, this Court dismissed the appeal without
    prejudice.
    7
    Larry as the attorney fees and costs "associated with compliance
    with the April 26, 2011 [o]rder."
    We granted this appeal.     Shebelskie and Wright assert that
    the circuit court erred by finding that they violated Code
    § 8.01-271.1: (1) because Shebelskie was a "non-signatory
    attorney who only presented oral argument"; (2) because the
    court based its decision on arguments they did not make; and (3)
    because their actual arguments on behalf of Betty were warranted
    by existing law concerning contempt.
    II.    ANALYSIS
    The relevant provisions of Code § 8.01-271.1 state that
    "every pleading, written motion, and other paper" signed, as
    well as every "oral motion made" by an attorney, "constitutes a
    certificate" or "representation," respectively, that: (1) "to
    the best of his knowledge, information and belief, formed after
    reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact and is warranted
    by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension,
    modification, or reversal of existing law"; and (2) "it is not
    interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to
    cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of
    litigation."   In addition, as to every "pleading, motion, or
    other paper," the attorney's signature certifies that "he has
    read the pleading, motion, or other paper."    
    Id. If any
    "pleading, motion, or other paper is signed or made in violation
    8
    of this rule, the court, upon motion or upon its own initiative,
    shall impose upon the person who signed the paper or made the
    motion . . . an appropriate sanction."     
    Id. In reviewing
    a trial court's decision to impose a sanction
    pursuant to the Code § 8.01-271.1, we apply an abuse of
    discretion standard.    Gilmore v. Finn, 
    259 Va. 448
    , 466, 
    527 S.E.2d 426
    , 435 (2000).    Reviewing for an abuse of discretion
    does not simply mean that a circuit court "may do whatever
    pleases it."     Landrum v. Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Hosps.,
    Inc., 
    282 Va. 346
    , 352, 
    717 S.E.2d 134
    , 137 (2011) (internal
    quotation marks omitted).    Rather, "when a decision is
    discretionary . . . . 'the court has a range of choice, and . .
    . its decision will not be disturbed as long as it stays within
    that range and is not influenced by any mistake of law.'"
    Lawlor v. Commonwealth, 
    285 Va. 187
    , 212-13, 
    738 S.E.2d 847
    , 861
    (2013) (quoting 
    Landrum, 282 Va. at 352
    , 717 S.E.2d at 137).
    There are
    "three principal ways" by which a court
    abuses its discretion: "when a relevant
    factor that should have been given
    significant weight is not considered; when
    an irrelevant or improper factor is
    considered and given significant weight; and
    when all proper factors, and no improper
    ones, are considered, but the court, in
    weighing those factors, commits a clear
    error of judgment."
    9
    
    Id. at 213,
    738 S.E.2d at 861 (quoting 
    Landrum, 282 Va. at 352
    ,
    717 S.E.2d at 137).    When the law "circumscribes the range of
    choice available to a court in the exercise of its discretion[,]
    [t]he abuse-of-discretion standard includes review to determine
    that the discretion was not guided by erroneous legal
    conclusions."   
    Id. (internal quotation
    marks omitted).      "Such an
    error may occur when the court believes it lacks authority it
    possesses, . . . when it believes the law requires something it
    does not, . . . or when it fails to fulfill a condition
    precedent that the law requires."      
    Id. (citations omitted).
    In applying the abuse of discretion standard when reviewing
    a sanction imposed under Code § 8.01-271.1, we employ "an
    objective standard of reasonableness" to determine whether an
    attorney, "after reasonable inquiry, could have formed a
    reasonable belief that the pleading was warranted by existing
    law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or
    reversal of existing law."    
    Gilmore, 259 Va. at 466
    , 527 S.E.2d
    at 435; accord Nedrich v. Jones, 
    245 Va. 465
    , 471-72, 
    429 S.E.2d 201
    , 204 (1993).    While the possibility of sanctions can
    "protect litigants" from "unfounded factual and legal claims and
    against the assertions of valid claims for improper purposes[,]
    the threat of a sanction should not be used to stifle counsel in
    advancing novel legal theories or asserting a client's rights in
    a doubtful case."     
    Gilmore, 259 Va. at 466
    , 527 S.E.2d at 435.
    10
    Although the circuit court concluded that both Shebelskie
    and Wright violated Code § 8.01-271.1 and held them jointly and
    severally liable for the monetary sanction imposed, we will
    address each attorney separately, beginning with Shebelskie.
    A.   Sanction against Shebelskie
    Shebelskie claims that he neither signed a pleading nor
    made a motion such that he could be sanctioned under Code
    § 8.01-271.1.     As Larry concedes, the Show Cause Response Brief
    was signed by Wright alone and so cannot serve as a basis for
    sanctioning Shebelskie.    With respect to the only other conduct
    identified by the circuit court as being the subject of the
    sanction, Shebelskie's oral argument at the August 2011 hearing,
    that argument was not an "oral motion" under Code § 8.01-271.1.
    Absent ambiguity or an absurd result, ordinary principles
    of statutory construction require us to construe the term
    "motion" according to its plain meaning.     See Nolte v. MT Tech.
    Enters., LLC, 
    284 Va. 80
    , 89-90, 
    726 S.E.2d 339
    , 344 (2012).       A
    "motion" is a "written or oral application requesting a court to
    make a specified ruling or order."     Black's Law Dictionary 1106
    (9th ed. 2009).
    At the August 2011 hearing, Shebelskie presented argument
    as to why Betty should not be held in contempt.       That argument,
    however, was in response to Larry's motion for the issuance of a
    rule to show cause and the circuit court's issuance of the rule.
    11
    At the time of the hearing, Shebelskie had neither filed nor
    made orally any motion under consideration by the court.     To
    hold that Shebelskie's argument was nevertheless an "oral
    motion" under Code § 8.01-271.1 would extend the word "motion"
    beyond its plain meaning and would mean that any oral argument
    is a "motion" under the statute.     The General Assembly chose the
    word "motion" intentionally, and we will not construe the term
    beyond its intended meaning to encompass an argument made in
    response to an opposing party's motion. 6   See Kummer v. Donak,
    
    282 Va. 301
    , 304, 
    715 S.E.2d 7
    , 9 (2011) ("This Court assumes
    the legislature chose [its] words with care and is bound by
    those words in construing the statute.").    Thus, the circuit
    court was "influenced by [a] mistake of law" and therefore
    abused its discretion by imposing a sanction against Shebelskie
    under Code § 8.01-271.1.   Lawlor, 285 Va. at 
    213, 738 S.E.2d at 861
    (internal quotation marks omitted).
    B.   Sanction against Wright
    6
    On brief and in oral argument, Larry acknowledged that
    Shebelskie's oral argument before the court at the August 2011
    hearing did not constitute a "motion" under Code § 8.01-271.1.
    Instead, Larry contends that the circuit court sanctioned
    Shebelskie for the post-hearing letter to the circuit court that
    he signed. That letter, however, was not the basis for the
    court's decision to sanction Shebelskie. In its final order,
    the circuit court specifically identified the Show Cause
    Response Brief and the oral argument at the August hearing as
    the bases for the imposition of sanctions. We will thus not
    address whether the post-hearing letter qualifies as a
    "pleading" or "other paper" under Code § 8.01-271.1.
    12
    In light of our holding with regard to Shebelskie and the
    fact that Wright also did not make any motions at the August
    2011 hearing, our analysis now is limited to the question
    whether the circuit court erred in finding that Wright violated
    Code § 8.01-271.1 by presenting the arguments set forth in the
    Show Cause Response Brief.
    The circuit court concluded that Wright violated the
    statute by arguing in that written submission that Betty "did
    not have to comply with the April 2011 Order because it did not
    state payment had to be in cash, did not set a date or deadline
    for payment, and was an interlocutory order."     At the August
    hearing, the court again characterized Wright's argument as
    being "that there is no requirement to comply with interlocutory
    orders or preliminary orders."   In its November 2011 order, the
    circuit court stated that Wright argued that the April 2011
    order was interlocutory and Betty "did not have to comply with
    it because it could not be appealed."   The court also stated:
    "The [c]ourt has not yet received any legal authority supporting
    the position that parties do not have to comply with court
    orders [if they] are interlocutory, or do not state payment had
    to be in cash, or do not set a date or deadline for payment."
    These findings misstate Wright's argument.    Wright never
    contended that Betty did not have to comply with the April order
    13
    because it was interlocutory. 7    Wright also never argued that an
    order lacking an amount to be paid, a deadline for payment, or a
    manner of payment did not have to be obeyed.     Rather, Wright
    argued that an order lacking such specificity could not be the
    basis of a contempt finding.      In the Show Cause Response Brief,
    Wright argued the following:
    It is hornbook law that contempt lies only
    for failure to abide by an order's "definite
    terms as to the duties thereby imposed . . .
    and the command must be expressed rather
    than implied." Winn v. Winn, 
    218 Va. 8
    , 10,
    
    235 S.E.2d 307
    , 309 (1977)[.] Since no
    definite term of the [April o]rder requires
    [Betty] to have paid in cash on demand by
    [Larry], [Betty] has not violated any
    definite term of the [April o]rder.
    . . . .
    The [April o]rder does not confer on
    [Larry] any right to unilaterally fix the
    form and time of payment. It does not
    address these subjects at all. Since the
    interlocutory [April o]rder sets no deadline
    and specifies no method of payment, under
    the rule of Winn, [Betty] cannot be in
    contempt simply because she has offered
    payment, before the [April o]rder is even
    final, by an alternative method of payment
    that reduces [Larry's] debt to her.
    7
    In fact, neither Wright nor Shebelskie made that argument
    or an argument that Betty could not be held in contempt because
    the April order was interlocutory. In response to the circuit
    court's perceived mischaracterization of the argument,
    Shebelskie, in his post-hearing letter to the circuit court,
    expressly acknowledged that many interlocutory orders could
    indeed be enforced by contempt.
    14
    Because the April order was an interlocutory order that did not
    contain express terms with regard to the total amount due, the
    date payment was to be made, and the manner of payment, Wright
    argued, it lacked the specificity required to be enforced by
    contempt. 8
    Under well-established Virginia jurisprudence, contempt
    only lies "'for disobedience of what is decreed, not for what
    may be decreed.'"   Petrosinelli v. People for the Ethical
    Treatment of Animals, Inc., 
    273 Va. 700
    , 706-07, 
    643 S.E.2d 151
    ,
    154 (2007) (quoting Taliaferro v. Horde, 22 Va. (1 Rand.) 242,
    247 (1822)).   "'[B]efore a person may be held in contempt for
    violating a court order, the order must be in definite terms as
    to the duties thereby imposed upon him and the command must be
    expressed rather than implied.'"     
    Id. at 707,
    643 S.E.2d at 151
    (quoting 
    Winn, 218 Va. at 10
    , 235 S.E.2d at 309).    "[F]or a
    proceeding in contempt to lie," there "'must be an express
    command or prohibition' which has been violated."     
    Id. (quoting French
    v. Pobst, 
    203 Va. 704
    , 710, 
    127 S.E.2d 137
    , 141 (1962)).
    These principles arise from the recognition that the "'judicial
    contempt power is a potent weapon.'"     
    Id. at 706,
    643 S.E.2d at
    8
    At the August hearing and in the post-hearing letter,
    Shebelskie likewise argued that "established law . . .
    proscribes a finding of contempt unless an order has definite
    terms as to the duties."
    15
    154 (quoting International Longshoremen's Ass'n v. Philadelphia
    Marine Trade Ass'n, 
    389 U.S. 64
    , 76 (1967)).
    In Winn, the parties entered into a marital settlement
    agreement in which the husband agreed to maintain for two years
    an existing health insurance policy covering his wife, or a
    similar policy containing comparable 
    benefits. 218 Va. at 9
    ,
    235 S.E.2d at 308.   After the entry of the divorce decree that
    incorporated the agreement, the husband maintained the existing
    policy, but the insurer refused to cover the wife's medical
    expenses because her divorce "had become final."       
    Id. (internal quotation
    marks omitted).     She thus sought to hold the husband
    in contempt for failing to comply with the terms of the divorce
    decree.   
    Id. The trial
    court agreed with the wife and held the
    husband in contempt.    
    Id. On appeal,
    this Court reversed the trial court's judgment.
    
    Id. at 10-11,
    235 S.E.2d at 309.       We concluded that the husband
    had not violated "a clearly defined duty imposed upon him by the
    agreement and the decree" and thus was not in contempt.       
    Id. We explained:
    It may well be that [the parties] intended
    the husband's obligation to be absolute – if
    intervention of the divorce should have the
    effect of voiding the wife's coverage under
    the [existing] policy, it was his duty to
    procure other insurance guaranteeing her
    substantially the same benefits she had as
    his undivorced wife. But if this was the
    husband's duty, it was not expressed in
    16
    definite terms in the agreement, as
    incorporated into the divorce decree. If
    the duty existed at all, it arose only by
    implication.
    
    Id. Similarly, in
    Petrosinelli, the Court held that an attorney
    was not in contempt because the orders at issue did not contain
    an "express command or 
    prohibition." 273 Va. at 709
    , 643 S.E.2d
    at 156 (internal quotation marks omitted).    There, the trial
    court consolidated two cases for trial, but in three separate
    orders denied motions by a defendant in the second action to
    consolidate the cases for discovery.     
    Id. at 703,
    643 S.E.2d at
    153.    With knowledge that the plaintiff had scheduled the
    deposition of a particular witness in the first action, the
    defendant's attorney issued a subpoena to depose that witness in
    the second action on the same date and time but at a different
    location.    
    Id. In response,
    the plaintiff filed a petition for
    a rule to show cause in the second action as to why the
    defendant's attorney should not be held in contempt for
    violating the court's orders denying consolidation of the two
    cases for discovery.     
    Id. at 705,
    643 S.E.2d at 153.   Finding
    that the attorney had violated at least one of its orders, the
    trial court held the attorney in contempt.     
    Id. at 705-06,
    643
    S.E.2d at 154.
    17
    On appeal, this Court concluded that the three orders
    denying consolidation of the two cases for discovery did not
    contain "an express prohibition on the issuance of a subpoena to
    [the witness] by [the defendant] or any other party."     
    Id. at 708,
    643 S.E.2d at 156.   We further concluded that the orders
    "did not expressly command or prohibit [the attorney] from
    acting to depose a witness" and the attorney issued the subpoena
    in only the second action.   
    Id. Continuing, we
    explained that
    a duty that arises by implication cannot
    sustain a finding of contempt. If there was
    any prohibition upon [the attorney] against
    subpoenaing [the witness], such a duty was,
    at best, an implication from general remarks
    of the court . . . . [The attorney] was
    never explicitly prohibited by a court order
    from issuing the . . . subpoena. Mere
    implication of a duty cannot form the basis
    of a contempt judgment.
    Id. at 
    709, 643 S.E.2d at 156
    (citation omitted).    Thus, this
    Court reversed the trial court's judgment.     
    Id. In the
    case now before us, the April order imposed several
    express duties with regard to the closing on the sale of the
    real property.   The order also directed Betty to pay the
    attorney fees and costs associated with her motion to approve
    the assignment of the Contract to her, including those incurred
    for two prior hearings on the matter.    But the April order did
    "not express[] in definite terms," 
    Winn, 218 Va. at 10
    , 235
    S.E.2d at 309, the total amount to be paid by Betty and
    18
    "express[ly] command[ed]" only that Betty pay Larry "an
    additional $12,500."    
    Petrosinelli, 273 Va. at 707
    , 643 S.E.2d
    at 155 (internal quotation marks omitted).    The order also
    failed to specify when Betty was to pay the undetermined amount,
    and the order was not final.
    Irrespective of whether Wright was actually correct that
    his client's obligation to pay a certain amount by a specific
    date "ar[ose] by implication" and thus could not "sustain a
    finding of contempt," Petrosinelli, 273 Va. at 
    709, 643 S.E.2d at 156
    , we conclude that Wright "after reasonable inquiry, could
    have formed a reasonable belief" that the arguments set forth in
    the Show Cause Response Brief were "warranted by existing law"
    governing contempt. 9   
    Gilmore, 259 Va. at 466
    , 537 S.E.2d at 435-
    36; see also 
    Winn, 218 Va. at 10
    , 235 S.E.2d at 309 ("If the
    duty existed at all, it arose only by implication.");
    
    Petrosinelli, 273 Va. at 707
    , 643 S.E.2d at 154 ("[T]here must
    be an express command or prohibition which has been violated"
    for contempt to lie) (internal quotation marks omitted).    By
    misconstruing Wright's argument, the circuit court considered
    9
    In arguing that Wright knew what the April order required,
    Larry raises several factual and circumstantial issues not
    stated in the order itself. It is the violation of a court's
    order, however, that is the proper subject of contempt, not
    implications arising from other circumstances of the case. See
    Petrosinelli, 273 Va. at 
    709, 643 S.E.2d at 156
    (stating that a
    court's contempt power encompasses the written and oral "orders,
    commands and directions of the court") (internal quotation marks
    omitted).
    19
    "an irrelevant or improper factor" and arrived at the "erroneous
    legal conclusion[]" that Wright's arguments were not warranted
    by existing law.   
    Landrum, 282 Va. at 352
    , 717 S.E.2d at 137;
    Lawlor, 285 Va. at 
    213, 738 S.E.2d at 861
    .    Thus, the court
    abused its discretion by holding that Wright violated Code §
    8.01-271.1.
    III. CONCLUSION
    In sum, the circuit court abused its discretion by imposing
    sanctions on Shebelskie and Wright pursuant to Code § 8.01-
    271.1.   We will reverse the circuit court's judgment and dismiss
    the rule to show cause.
    Reversed and dismissed.
    20