Page:Dollar Rent A Car of Washington v. Travelers Indemnity.pdf/6

 that an exception to nonfinality of a civil contempt order is recognized where the threat of the contempt is continuing, In re Campbell, 628 F.2d 1260, 1261–62 (9th Cir.1980), there is no continuing threat here.

However, other circuits have held that an appeal of a civil contempt order is permissible when it is incident to an appeal from a final order or judgment, including an underlying preliminary injunction. See Emery Air Freight Corp. v. Local Union 295, 449 F.2d 586, 590 (2d Cir.1971), ''cert. denied'', 405 U.S. 1066, 92 S.Ct. 1500, 31 L.Ed.2d 796 (1972); Halderman v. Pennhurst State School & Hospital, 673 F.2d 628, 637 (3d Cir.1982), ''cert. denied'', – U.S. —, 104 S.Ct. 1315, 79 L.Ed.2d 712 (1984); Blaylock v. Cheker Oil Co., 547 F.2d 962, 965 (6th Cir.1976); Hyde Construction Co. v. Koehring Co., 348 F.2d 643, 647 (10th Cir.1965), rev’d on other grounds, 382 U.S. 362, 86 S.Ct. 522, 15 L.Ed.2d 416 (1966). We conclude that this exception to nonappealability of a civil contempt order is applicable to this appeal.

The grounds for the district court’s order was Travelers’ failure to maintain the status quo required by the preliminary injunction, the status quo being the last peaceable uncontested status existing between the parties before the dispute developed. While the preliminary injunction requires Travelers to renew all “existing” insurance policies, it is not reasonably inferrable from this imprecise language that it was intended that Travelers reinstate the insurance policies of those licensees and subsidiaries who had already obtained replacement insurance prior to the entry of the preliminary injunction. Nor is it reasonably inferrable that the maintenance of the status quo ordered by the preliminary injunction required Travelers to reinstate these insurance policies. Language this unspecific cannot support a finding of contempt for noncompliance with it.

Thus, we hold that the district court erred in granting the preliminary injunction and erred in holding Travelers in civil contempt for noncompliance with the preliminary injunction. The district court’s Order of July 20, 1984 is vacated insofar as it grants Dollar and Viking the preliminary injunction. The district court’s Order of October 17, 1984 is vacated in its entirety.

VACATED.