In the case of Mahoney v. Mahoney, the Appeals Court of Massachusetts dealt with a dispute arising from a divorce agreement. Christopher A. Mahoney filed a complaint for civil contempt against Shirley A. Mahoney, alleging she failed to comply with a section of their separation agreement. This section required Shirley to buy out Christopher’s fifty percent interest in their marital home by refinancing by a specific date. Shirley argued that she had already purchased the house from Christopher, providing a quitclaim deed and a canceled check as evidence. The court initially held Shirley in contempt for not complying with the order regarding the marital home. However, Shirley appealed, claiming she was denied an evidentiary hearing and that her motion to dismiss the contempt complaint should have been granted. The Appeals Court vacated the judgment of contempt and remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing, affirming the denial of the motion to dismiss.