C.A. v. G.L.

Syllabus

The defendant appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court granting the plaintiff's application for a civil protection order filed pursu- ant to statute (§ 46b-16a). The defendant and the plaintiff were neighbors in a condominium association and for nearly two decades they have had a contentious relationship. The defendant had an ongoing litigation action against the plaintiff and other members of the association. The plaintiff's application for a civil protection order alleged that the defen- dant had threatened her. On appeal, the defendant claimed that the trial court erred in finding that reasonable grounds existed to believe that he committed, and would continue to commit, acts of stalking, which constituted the grounds for the civil protection order. Held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the defendant's conduct and statements could be interpreted as threats to the plaintiff's physical safety, as the court had an adequate basis on which to find that the defendant's escalating behavior met the statutory criteria to issue a civil order of protection; the record demonstrated that the parties had a toxic relationship, they were locked in adversarial litigation, the defendant left messages on the plaintiff's door on a frequent basis in an unwanted and harassing manner, causing her to call the police, and the defendant's temper was escalating, and, thus, the court reasonably found that the defendant's statements, including his comment that he was ''coming for'' the plaintiff, could be interpreted in such a way as to cause the plaintiff to fear for her physical safety; moreover, contrary to the defendant's argument, § 46b-16a did not require that there be prior threats or instances of physical violence for a party to reasonably fear for her physical safety. Argued September 17—officially released December 15, 2020