Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
A domestic violence injunction under Chapter 741.30 of the Florida Statutes may be sought by any family or household members. Parties do not need to be spouses in order for this type of injunction to be entered. According to the statute, the person seeking the injunction “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 in the circuit court to file a sworn petition for an injunction for protection against domestic violence.”
In the case Goodrich v. Goodrich, 1D22-675 (Fla. 1st DCA November 9, 2022), a domestic violence injunction was entered and the accused appealed. The case does not include a factual background, but it appears the accused argued that there was no finding by the trial court that the victim was in imminent fear of violence. The appellate court rejected this argument, citing “Caddy v. Robinson, 323 So. 3d 749, 752 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021) (holding that in deciding whether to issue an injunction for protection against domestic violence, ‘where the court finds that a petitioner is in fact the victim of DV, it does not need to find that she is also in imminent fear’).”
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