Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
When neighbors seek stalking injunctions against each other in Florida, scrutiny of what fits the statutory definition of stalking is taken on by the Court. A neighbor’s decorations at their home was the subject of a stalking injunction appealed in a recent case.
In this case of neighbor-relations gone sour, one neighbor accidentally rolled her car into the home of another neighbor. The neighbor whose home was damaged then began, according to the appellate opinion, placing “numerous homemade signs in their windows and had hung a skeleton, which they would dress in outfits that corresponded to events in the lives of Appellee and her teenage daughter, on their front door. [. . .] Appellants kept a daily tally on one of their signs with the number of days that had elapsed since the accident. Other homemade signs talked about May being mental health awareness month, one referenced the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and included a photograph of actor Jack Nicholson, one mentioned perimenopause and empty nest syndrome, one said “[h]ere comes da judge” around the time that Appellee had a divorce hearing, and one read, “Just because you are paranoid doesn’t mean they are watching (or listening) sometimes a steak out is just a barbeque right?” Another sign included the language “[h]ere’s looking at you kid” and contained a photo of Humphrey Bogart. Appellants dressed the skeleton in things like a straitjacket and a black dress.”
The neighbor who caused the damage filed a petition against stalking based on this. The trial court initially denied the petition, but that neighbor filed a supplemental affidavit which claimed she suffered from emotional distress as a result of her neighbors’ behavior. The trial court then entered the injunction against the neighbors finding their behavior caused emotional distress and was part of a pattern of harassment. An appeal followed a denied motion for rehearing.
The appellate court reversed, holding “Here, the trial court entered the stalking injunctions based upon what it found to be Appellants’ harassment of Appellee by posting signs in their windows and hanging a skeleton on their front door that they would dress and decorate in various ways to correspond to events in Appellee's life. But this case lacks evidence of Appellee suffering ‘substantial emotional distress’ due to the signs and ornaments hanging in Appellants’ house that justifies the imposition of a stalking injunction. See Savage v. Bustillo, 397 So. 3d 1198, 1201 (Fla. 1st DCA 2024) (recognizing that substantial emotional distress is more than being weirded out or uncomfortable); Venn v. Fowlkes, 257 So. 3d 622, 624 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) (recognizing that the substantial emotional distress that is necessary to support a stalking injunction is greater than just an ordinary feeling of distress).”
Nothing in this article may be construed as legal advice. Schedule your meeting with a Miami family law attorney for specific advice about your case.