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Sponsor says bill would let courts fashion remedies when orders go unenforced
Summary
House Bill 320 would allow courts to enforce their own orders and fashion remedies to put parties in the position as if orders had been performed; sponsor said the measure helps self-represented litigants and fills a gap in enforcement remedies.
Representative Deborah Desimone introduced House Bill 320, which would authorize courts to apply established enforcement standards and fashion equitable remedies when an order has not been enforced by a party or a court.
Desimone told the committee she introduced the bill on behalf of Representative Markel and said the measure responds to cases where a court lacks a clear mechanism to enforce its prior orders and where parties, often self-represented, lose out on property settlement or other court-ordered relief. "Currently, there is no requirement that a court enforce its own orders. As a result, a party can lose out on property settlement if a court simply chooses to not enforce its own orders," Desimone said.
The bill would allow courts to apply well-settled legal standards and to fashion remedies that put parties in the position they would have been in if an order had been performed. Desimone said the bill was intended to help litigants who represent themselves and to provide predictable standards for courts charged with enforcing prior decrees.
Committee members asked whether the bill could reopen old final decrees; the sponsor asked the committee to consult the bill's sponsor for details, noting he was not present. Senator Wong asked whether the bill's reach could permit a party to reopen a decades-old decree; Desimone asked for liaison to the sponsor on that point and recommended follow-up with the bill's author.
No committee vote occurred on HB 320 during the hearing; members asked for additional drafting or sponsor availability to answer procedural and scope questions.
