Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence

When a domestic violence injunction is entered in Florida, the order can give the victim exclusive use and possession of a home, despite ownership interest. Can the owner still evict the victim while the injunction is in place? This was an issue in the case Castillo v. Aldahondo, 6D2023-1694 (Fla. 6th DCA June 27, 2025).

The parties shared a home owned by the party accused of domestic violence. The alleged victim was granted exclusive use and possession of the home after a temporary injunction was entered by consent. Separately, the alleged abuser and owner of the home filed a county court action to evict the alleged victim from the home. The county court entered a judgment of eviction, holding it had exclusive jurisdiction as to eviction matters. The alleged victim appealed.

The appellate court reversed, holding “[T]he county court had jurisdiction to adjudicate Camacho’s and Castillo’s respective rights of possession of the home under section 83.59 only to the extent such rights derived from a rental agreement and its termination. The court did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate their respective rights of possession to the extent those rights derived from a domestic violence injunction under section 741.30, the issuance, enforcement, modification, and dissolution of which are within the circuit court’s exclusive jurisdiction.”

The court concluded “[The alleged abuser] was entitled to a full hearing in the circuit court on [the alleged victim’s] injunction petition, where he could have challenged [the alleged victim’s] possessory rights under the temporary injunction. See § 741.30(5)(c), Fla. Stat. Instead, [The alleged abuser] agreed to continue the circuit court hearing, which extended the temporary injunction, see id., and sought to obtain possession by county court eviction. But the county court did not have jurisdiction to modify [the alleged victim’s] possessory rights awarded in the circuit court injunction. Thus, it was error for the county court to dispossess [the alleged victim] of the home while the injunction was still in effect.”

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