Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
How close in time must an incident of domestic violence be to filing a petition for injunction against violence in Florida? This was an issue in the case Magloire v. Obrenovic, 2D20-145 (Fla. 2d DCA December 11, 2020) in which the alleged victim of domestic violence testified that the last incident of violence occurred more than one year to the date she filed the petition for protection against domestic violence.
The testimony offered by the petitioner stated the parties were involved in a relationship from 2017 to 2018 during which a child was conceived. Paternity had not yet been established by the time the petition for injunction was filed, and the respondent denied being the father of the child. In any event, the petitioner alleged the respondent was physically abusive toward her during the relationship, and that the most recent incident of violence occurred in March 2018 when he kicked her in the stomach and then knocked her phone to the ground when she tried to call the police. The petitioner further stated that she was in fear for her safety because the respondent continued to deny paternity of her minor child. The trial court found the petitioner to be credible and entered an injunction for the respondent to stay away from the petitioner for five years. The respondent appealed.
The appellate court noted that it would not second-guess the findings that abuse occurred, but it noted “those incidents predated the filing of the petition by well over a year and were thus too remote in time to support the entry of the injunction in the absence of more recent evidence of domestic violence or evidence that [petitioner] has reasonable cause to believe that she and her child are in imminent danger.”
Turning to the analysis of whether or not the petitioner had a reasonable basis to fear becoming a victim of further violence, the appellate court held “Aside from [respondent’s] past threats, [petitioner] testified that her fear of imminent violence was based on the parties' continued involvement in a paternity dispute and [respondent’s] insistence that he is not the father of [petitioner’s] child. But [petitioner] did not testify that [respondent] had done or threatened to do anything with regard to the paternity action that would give her reasonable cause to believe that she or her child were in imminent danger.” The court additionally noted “[petitioner] could not even recall the last time that [respondent] had tried to contact her, and despite claiming that she feared for her safety and that of her child, [petitioner] continued to try to contact [respondent] and his family members after the incidents of violence in 2018. Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment of injunction for protection against domestic violence with minor child.”
If you need assistance with a Florida domestic violence injunction, schedule a consultation with a Miami domestic violence lawyer.