Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

A party against whom a Florida domestic violence injunction has been entered may move to dissolve the injunction on the basis that the factors underlying entry of the injunction have changed or are no longer an issue. In the case Hobbs v. Hobbs, 1D19-1269 (Fla. 1st DCA February 27, 2020), the former husband sought to dissolve a 20-year old injunction entered in favor of his ex-wife.

In the year 2000, the parties were in the midst of divorce proceedings when the former husband reportedly went to the former marital home and caught his former wife in bed with another man. A physical altercation ensued in which the former husband pushed the former wife, and she pushed and punched him. The former husband later returned with a law enforcement officer to obtain a gun he kept at the home. The former wife then sought an injunction and alleged the former husband stalked her. The injunction was granted, and shortly after, the former wife moved away from the area.

Eighteen years later, the former husband sought a concealed weapons license. It was at that time he became aware the injunction was still in place. He therefore sought to have it set aside. At the hearing on his motion, the former wife testified that she had moved back to the area, and although the former husband had not violated the injunction ever, she still felt fear that he would commit violence against her since she heard rumors that the former husband still had feelings for her. The former husband, on the other hand, testified that he did not know of the former wife’s whereabouts, that he had no desire to contact her, and that he was unaware the injunction was still in place after the passing of so much time. The trial court denied the former husband’s motion, resulting in the injunction remaining in place.

The appellate court reversed, holding the lower court abused its discretion in refusing to dissolve the injunction. Reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence de novo, the appellate court held “Even though [the former wife’s] testimony consisted of speculation and hearsay, the trial court found [the former wife’s] fear of violence from [the former husband] was objectively reasonable. The court found that [the former wife] had been absent from the Pensacola area for almost eighteen years and had returned only six months before the hearing. The trial court observed [the former wife’s] demeanor and body language and found that she was still ‘very, very angry at what [the former husband] did in the year '99/2000.’ The trial court found that she ‘looked scared.’ The record supports these findings. But these findings only show that [the former wife] had a subjective fear of [the former husband]. And subjective fear is not enough to maintain a permanent injunction. [. . .] Instead, [the former wife’s] fear of harm from [the former husband] had to be objectively reasonable, based on all the circumstances. The evidence did not show that [the former wife’s] fear was objectively reasonable. The trial court erred in finding otherwise.”

Dissolving an injunction in Florida is a process that take careful consideration of many factors. If you are on either side of a case in which this is an issue, contact a Miami domestic violence lawyer to understand how the law may be applied to your case.