Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Domestic Violence
Many times, allegations of abuse that are too remote in time are not enough to sustain a Florida domestic violence injunction. There must be relatively recent allegations, and then the court can consider past allegations in the context of the recent allegations. This was an issue in the case Harrington v. Giancola, 6D2024-0828 (Fla. 6th DCA July 18, 2025).
A permanent final injunction for protection against domestic violence was entered against a former boyfriend, and he appealed, arguing the allegations made by the former girlfriend were too remote in time and that recent allegations were too speculative. The appellate court disagreed, holding “For [the former boyfriend’s] argument to succeed, he must first demonstrate that [the former girlfriend’s] testimony concerning recent acts of stalking was too speculative. While we agree with [the former boyfriend’s] recitation of the law—that speculative testimony does not constitute competent, substantial evidence—we disagree that [the former girlfriend’s] testimony was mere speculation. [the former girlfriend] testified that she believed the person in the car behind her was [the former boyfriend] because that person looked “exactly like” [the former boyfriend] even though he wore a hat and sunglasses. Her testimony established that [the former boyfriend] had recently followed her from work multiple days in a row. After hearing her testimony, the trial court found [the former girlfriend] credible, a finding this Court cannot second-guess. Finally, the appellate court concluded “And after crediting [the former girlfriend’s] testimony as to recent conduct, the trial court was free to consider that conduct within the context of their past relationship and its history of violence.”
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