Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
A petition for injunction against dating violence in Florida requires that the alleged victim show a dating relationship, violence during the relationship and imminent future violence. This was an issue in the case Adams v. Cox, 5D2023-1821 (Fla. 5th DCA May, 2025).
The parties were in a relationship in which the girlfriend alleged the boyfriend had committed acts of violence. Prior to a hearing on the girlfriend’s petition for injunction, she alleged she received calls and text messages from unknown numbers which she believed to be from the boyfriend. She did not offer any proof at the hearing that the calls or texts came from him, and the boyfriend tried to enter evidence that the phone numbers were not associated with him, but the trial court denied his attempt. The trial court also did not allow the boyfriend to call any other witnesses or to authenticate his proof about the phone messages and calls. An injunction was entered, and the boyfriend appealed.
The appellate court reversed, first holding the girlfriend failed to establish she was in imminent danger of future violence. It held “[The girlfriend], for example, did not testify that [the boyfriend] threatened her with further harm after their breakup, and it was unrefuted that the two had no direct contact for several months before the injunction hearing. The only evidence offered to show a continuing threat were the anonymous phone calls and texts that [The girlfriend] suspected were from [the boyfriend]. [. . .] That said, suspicion alone is not proof.” The court further found that the trial court denying the boyfriend the right to present evidence denied him due process. The court concluded “We therefore reverse the final judgment of injunction for protection against dating violence and vacate the injunction.”
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