STEPHEN MANTELL, APPELLANT,
v.
KAREN ROCKE, APPELLEE
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Stephen Mantell appeals a domestic violence injunction issued against him. The court reverses the injunction because the appellee presented no evidence at the hearing to support her petition, and even if she had testified about two drive-bys and statements made 5.5 years after a prior assault, such evidence would be insufficient to establish imminent danger of violence.
The court reverses the injunction on two independent grounds: (1) because no evidence or testimony was introduced by the appellee in support of her petition, and (2) even if testimony consistent with her allegations had been presented, it would be insufficient because an isolated incident of domestic violence occurring years in the past, without additional current allegations, does not establish the imminent danger required by Florida law.
[1] A domestic violence injunction must be reversed when the petitioner presents no evidence or testimony in support of the petition at the hearing.
[2] A party seeking an injunction for protection against domestic violence must present sufficient evidence to establish the objective reasonableness of their fear that the d…
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a respondent is entitled to a fair hearing and protection from the effects of a final judgment of injunction that lacks any evidentiary support”
Establishes the fundamental right to fair process when no evidence supports an injunction
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKaren Rocke obtained a final judgment of injunction for protection against domestic violence against Stephen Mantell. Rocke alleged that Mantell twice…
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Appellant, Stephen Mantell, appeals a final judgment of injunction for protection against domestic violence. Because no evidence or testimony was introduced by Appellee, Karen Rocke, in support of her petition for an injunction, we are constrained to reverse. See Achurra v. Achurra, 80 So.3d 1080, 1082-83 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (reversing a domestic violence injunction where the petitioner, who had the initial burden to prove entitlement to relief, presented no evidence at the petition hearing and the trial court never received or .considered a copy of the transcript of earlier proceedings between the parties and explaining that a respondent is entitled to a fair hearing and .protection from the . effects of a final judgment of injunction that lacks any evidentiary support). In doing , so, , we note that even if Appellee, had provided testimony during the injunction hearing that was in line with her allegations that Appellant twice drove by her home .and told her that it was a free country flve-and-a-half years after committing felony assault upon her, we would still be constrained to reverse the injunction, See § 741.30(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2014) (providing that a person who is either the victim of domestic violence or has “reasonable cause to believe he or she is in imminent danger of becoming the victim of any act of domestic violence” has standing to fíle a petition for an injunction against domestic violence) (emphasis added); Randolph v. Rich, 58 So.3d 290, 291 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011) (explaining that while a petitioner does not have to wait for abuse to occur in order to seek an injunction under section 741.30, the law requires that a party seeking an injunction present sufficient evidence to establish the objective reasonableness of his or her fear that the danger of violence is imminent); Gill v. Gill, 50 So.3d 772, 774 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (“[A]n isolated incident of domestic violence that occurred years before a petition for injunction is filed will not usually support the issuance of an injunction in the absence of additional current allegations.”); Malchan v, Howard, 29 So.3d 453, 454-55 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (reversing the injunction against domestic violence and noting that the only basis for requesting the in*513junction was a disputed incident three years before and a subjective fear on the mother’s part that her anticipated request for child support might cause-the appellant to become angry and that there had been no violence or threat of-violence in the past three years).
REVERSED.
LEWIS, THOMAS, and ROWE, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Newsom v. Newsom, 221 So. 3d 1265 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017)…roving the allegations in the petition. The trial court received no evidence and simply asked the former wife if she still wanted an injunction. Her statement that she did was not a sufficient basis for granting the injunction. See Mantell v. Rocke, 179 So. 3d 511 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015) (reversing where no evidence or testimony was introduced by the appellee to support granting the injunction for protection against domestic violence). See also Achurra, 80 So. 3d at 1082 (consujering the sufficiency of the eviden…
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Blake v. Bayan Fares (Fla. 5th DCA 2025)…[o]ver the last few years,” Blake grabbed her arm, scratched her face, and “busted” her lip. However, the hearing contained no mention of these allegations. Therefore, they have no bearing on the validity of the injunction. See Mantell v. Rocke, 179 So. 3d 511, 512 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015) (reversing a domestic violence injunction because the petitioner introduced no evidence to support her allegations). 3 is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence. § 741.30(6)(a), Fla. Stat. (2024).…
Authorities Cited
- Gill v. Gill, 50 So. 3d 772 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)
- Achurra v. Achurra, 80 So. 3d 1080 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)
- Randolph v. Philicia Corine Rich, 58 So. 3d 290 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)
- Malchan v. Leis Howard, 29 So. 3d 453 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)