Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

The subject of a Florida dating violence injunction may involve a break-up that goes wrong. When a dating relationship ends, the parties may behave in a way that gives rise to the filing of a domestic violence injunction petition. This was an issue in the case Bell v. Battaglia, 2D19-280 (Fla. 2d DCA January 12, 2022).

The parties were dating for some months before the alleged victim filed a petition for protection against dating violence, alleging that the accused committed physical violence against him in addition to incidents that occurred in public places while the alleged victim was with another female acquaintance. The alleged victim also asserted that the accused made threats to harass the alleged victim’s family and friends personally and on social media. At a hearing on the petition, evidence was entered showing the accused sent one text message to the alleged victim’s wife notifying her of the parties’ relationship. The trial court determined that this was “stalking behavior” and entered an injunction prohibiting the accused from having any contact with the alleged victim or going to places that he frequents. The accused appealed.

In examining if the one text message was enough to enter an injunction, the appellate court held “Here, the dating violence injunction was based upon a single text message to [the alleged victim’s] wife that the trial court deemed to be ‘cyberstalking.’ This was error because the text message was sent to a third party, not [the alleged victim]. [. . .] Cyberstalking requires that the communications be ‘directed at a specific person,’ and that they cause ‘substantial emotional distress to that person.’ § 784.048(1)(d); cf. § 784.046(1)(b) (providing that, unlike dating violence, ‘[r]epeat violence’ can be committed by violence or stalking ‘directed against the petitioner or the petitioner’s immediate family member’). Although [the alleged victim] was the subject of the text message that [the accused] admitted sending to his wife, he was not the recipient.” The court also noted that the trial court’s reliance on one single text message to enter the injunction fell short of the repeated acts sufficient to support a stalking injunction.

Next the court considered the issue of whether or not the appeal was moot because the six month injunction had expired by the time the appellate court issued its opinion. The court noted “Florida appellate courts have routinely decided appeals from expired domestic violence and stalking injunctions on the merits because of the ‘collateral consequences’ that could result from the judgment,” and ultimately held the appeal was not moot and that an order reversing the injunction should be entered.

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