A St. Louis County Circuit Court judge ruled against a divorced mom who motioned the family court to recuse him and disqualify the court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem.
Caroline Less of Richmond Heights was challenging a June 30, 2022, order in which Judge Robert Heggie decided Less was in contempt of court for allegedly violating the current parenting plan and failing to pay attorney fees.
As previously reported in the St. Louis Record, the proceedings concern the custody and care of Less and Melchior Van Den Bergh's 11-year-old daughter after their 2016 divorce. Less previously had been ordered to pay $39,250 in legal fees to Guardian Ad Litem Robert Hamilton, former legal counsel Patricia Susi, and the Hais Group, which merged with the Cordell & Cordell law firm on Aug. 1, 2022.
Less’s request to void all orders and reinstate a protective order was also denied along with her ex-husband’s motion for an award of $3,000 to pay his attorney William Halaz III of Cordell & Cordell. Underlying the litigation is an injunction, which prevents Less from receiving therapy notes about her daughter’s treatment and prohibits Less from filing complaints against therapists.
“Ms. Less did not appeal any of these orders and is now estopped from raising this meritless point,” Heggie wrote in his Jan. 11 order. “The court also denies Mr. Mel Van Den Bergh's motion to dismiss and his motion for attorney fees, but at this time warns Ms. Less to proceed very cautiously regarding similar motions that aim to challenge the June 30th judgment.”
Less shares physical custody of her daughter with Van Den Bergh. But Van Den Bergh was granted sole legal custody.
A day after Heggie issued the order ending the proceedings, GAL Hamilton filed a wage garnishment application in the amount of $8,958.04. And on Dec. 28, 2022, Cordell Law filed a wage garnishment application in the amount of $10,708.59.
Less, who works as a senior sales manager for a hotel company, told the St. Louis Record that she is preparing motions to strike both wage garnishment applications.
“They want to financially destroy me and at the end of the day, I didn't cause this,” she said. “I wasn't found guilty of anything and there were a lot of unlawful things that occurred…they violated multiple rules of civil procedure."
Heggie concluded his Jan. 11 order with a warning against filing allegedly frivolous motions.
“I view the last sentence of his order as a threat to the litigant,” said attorney Evita Tolu, who is not involved in the case. “If Caroline Less challenges the facts and/or the law, she will be punished by the judge. She should not be threatened or punished for making an argument. It appears this judge is not impartial in threatening a litigant who is pursuing her rights.”