S.B-R v. J.D

Syllabus

The plaintiff, a college student, obtained an order of civil protection as to the defendant, a fellow student. The trial court found that the plaintiff, who had been subjected to disturbing comments by the defendant via e-mail and text messages as well as in person, including that he wanted to jump on her back in rage, had a reasonable fear for her physical safety. Accordingly, the court issued the order of civil protection as to the defendant pursuant to statute (§ 46b-16a). On the defendant's appeal to this court, held that the trial court abused its discretion in issuing the order of civil protection: the court failed to conduct the necessary analysis when it applied only the subjective standard to the plaintiff's apprehension of fear, rather than the required subjective-objective stan- dard of reasonable fear, and improperly determined that the plaintiff's subjective apprehension was sufficient to make the necessary determina- tion for stalking pursuant to § 46b-16a; moreover, there was insufficient evidence for the court to conclude that the defendant would continue to stalk or to commit acts designed to intimidate or retaliate against the plaintiff, as the plaintiff testified that there had been no communications between the defendant and her for several months preceeding the hear- ing, the defendant testified that he had withdrawn from the college for a semester and had walked away without approaching or speaking with the plaintiff the only time he saw her, and the testimony that both students would be returning as students to the college did not alone establish reasonable grounds to find that the defendant would continue to stalk the plaintiff. (One judge dissenting) Argued April 7—officially released October 19, 2021