Court Vacates Domestic Violence Injunction Against Boyfriend

In the case of McGuire v. Boscan, the two litigants were live-in lovers. The woman in this relationship, Boscan, filed a temporary domestic violence injunction without minor children against her former boyfriend, McGuire. McGuire, in turn, appealed the decision that granted his former girlfriend a domestic violence injunction. Incidents of alleged domestic violence occurred between May 2017 and September 2017.

The trial court entered a temporary injunction and set the case for a final hearing. With both parties acting pro se (without representation by attorneys), Ms. Boscan testified that the couple began to date in October 2016 and began living together in January 2017 until the alleged incident of domestic violence occurred in May 2017. The parties continued to have a relationship until November 2017.

The two parties presented conflicting accounts of what occurred. Ms. Boscan introduced into evidence two communications from Mr. McGuire that took place over WhatsApp. Both communications appeared friendly and did not contain any threats whatsoever. One of the messages was accidentally sent to Ms. Boscan’s sister. Neither woman responded to the messages and Mr. McGuire did not send any more.

Two incidents related to the injunction occurred in February and March 2020. Regarding the February incident, Ms. Boscan testified that she exited her car to meet her cousin. At that time, Mr. McGuire was jogging and passed her, making eye contact. Ms. Boscan went back into the car and locked the doors because she did not want to see him. She testified that it was a coincidence that they ran into each other because his face had a look of surprise. Mr. McGuire kept on jogging and did not make contact with Ms. Boscan.

In March, the couple again ran into each other. This time, it occurred at a Whole Foods store in downtown Miami. Ms. Boscan testified that while in the store, she turned around and Mr. McGuire was about 15 steps away from her. She later testified that Mr. McGuire “probably saw her on the street” and followed her into Whole Foods. Ultimately, Mr. McGuire left without incident.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court determined that it would enter a permanent injunction for protection against domestic violence against Mr. McGuire. In so doing, the trial court ruled that Ms. Boscan is a victim of domestic violence or has reasonable cause to believe she is in imminent danger of becoming a victim of domestic violence.

Mr. McGuire subsequently filed a motion for rehearing which was denied. He later filed an appeal arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by entering the permanent injunction for protection against domestic violence because the ruling was not supported by competent or substantial evidence. Ultimately, the appeals court agreed with Mr. McGuire.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Domestic Violence Attorney Today 

The Tampa family lawyers at Westchase, P.A. represent the interests of domestic violence victims in court cases involving injunctions. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next moves right away.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/florida/third-district-court-of-appeal/2021/3d20-1419.html