Law Lessons from L.H. V. P.H., App. Div., A-3651-08T3, March 12, 2010:

With the enactment of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (Act), N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 to -35, the Legislature intended “to assure the victims of domestic violence the maximum protection from abuse the law can provide.” N.J.S.A. 2C:25-18. Under the Act, the primary focus is to provide immediate protection to the victim. Ibid. A plaintiff seeking relief under the Act must first prove that a defendant has committed an act of domestic violence. N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19(a); Cesare v. Cesare, 154 N.J. 394, 400.

Once the plaintiff proves that the defendant committed one of the predicate acts, the court must then determine whether issuance of an FRO is necessary, based upon an evaluation of the factors set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:25-29(a)(1) to -29(a)(6) to protect the victim from further abuse. Silver v. Silver, 387 N.J. Super. 112, 126 (App. Div. 2006).

While the court has previously noted that a single commission of an enumerated predicate act of domestic violence does not automatically mandate the entry of a restraining order, the court has also held that one sufficiently egregious act of domestic violence can indeed warrant the issuance of an FRO regardless of whether there is a history of violence between the parties. McGowan v. O’Rourke, 391 N.J. Super. 502, 506 (App. Div. 2007) (citing Cesare, supra, 154 N.J. at 401-02).

The single act of violently destroying plaintiff’s dress with threats of similar future behavior for any act by plaintiff that defendant perceived as an act of “disrespect” constituted criminal mischief, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-3 and N.J.S.A. 2C:25-19(a), that is sufficiently egregious to justify the issuance of an FRO to protect plaintiff against any further abuse.

It is not unreasonable for plaintiff to hope that the situation will improve and, when it does not, to then seek the TRO. Roe v. Roe, 253 N.J. Super. 418, 429 (App. Div. 1992).

NOTE: My legal and mediation services are offered to Polish-speaking and other clients in Union, Middlesex, Somerset, Essex, Hudson, Bergen, and Morris counties in NJ.

Technorati Tags: , and easy technorati tags for wordpress plugin