K. D. v. D. D.

Citations

• 214 Conn. App. 821

Syllabus

The defendant appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court granting the plaintiff's application for a civil restraining order pursuant to statute (§ 46b-15). At an evidentiary hearing, the plaintiff testified that there was a pending action for a dissolution of marriage between the parties and that she had been increasingly afraid of the defendant. The plaintiff testified that one evening, when she went to a restaurant with a group of people, she saw the defendant approach the hostess stand, he stared at her with a furrowed brow, locked eye contact with her, and that he seemed very agitated in his physical movements. After the defendant left the restaurant, he sent various text messages and emails to the plaintiff regarding the encounter. The trial court granted the application for a civil restraining order against the defendant, finding that the defendant's conduct created a pattern of threatening. On the defendant's appeal to this court, held that the trial court erred in failing to apply an objective standard to its determination when it issued the civil restraining order based on the pattern of threatening provision of § 46b-15 (a): the court viewed the evidence through the lens of the plaintiff's subjective reaction to the defendant's conduct, namely, her resulting fear, and stated that the plaintiff's testimony indicated a tone of hostility that she felt frightened her, and, although the reaction of an applicant can help provide context, subjective fear of an applicant is not a statutory requirement under § 46b-15, and, instead, what is required is the occurrence of conduct that constitutes a pattern of threatening; moreover, § 46b-15 does not contain any statutory language requiring a subjective-objective analysis, and there is nothing in the statutory language indicating that the legislature intended for courts to issue civil restraining orders under the pattern of threatening portion of § 46b-15 in situations other than where it is objectivel