If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to 

revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.

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S T A T E O F M I C H I G A N

C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

PF,

Petitioner-Appellant,

FOR PUBLICATION

February 25, 2021

9:00 a.m.

V No. 351461

Macomb Circuit Court

JF, LC No. 2019-009260-PP

Respondent-Appellee.

Before: SWARTZLE, P.J., and MARKEY and TUKEL, JJ.

MARKEY, J.

Petitioner appeals by right the circuit court’s order denying her petition for a personal 

protection order (PPO) that she sought against respondent. The petition cited and relied on six 

incidents that allegedly justified the issuance of a PPO. The circuit court granted summary 

disposition in favor of respondent with respect to the initial five incidents, concluding that they 

were barred under the doctrine of res judicata because a PPO petition filed by petitioner regarding 

those five incidents had previously been denied by a circuit court in a neighboring county. 

Petitioner argues that the court erred in applying res judicata. As to the sixth incident, which 

occurred after the earlier PPO request had been rejected, the circuit court concluded that it did not 

warrant a PPO under MCL 600.2950. Petitioner contends that the circuit court erred in reaching 

that conclusion. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

The parties were married in 1988 and divorced in 2012. Petitioner and respondent have 

eight children together, only one of whom, a teenage son, remained a minor during the 

proceedings. Petitioner had physical custody of their son, and the parties shared legal custody. 

Respondent had not been in contact with the minor child since 2014. In 2017, respondent was 

convicted of attempted eavesdropping on petitioner, and he was sentenced to two years’ probation 

that prohibited contact with petitioner. But respondent was released from probation and the nocontact order in 2018.

In September 2019, petitioner filed a PPO petition against respondent in the neighboring

St. Clair Circuit Court. Petitioner asserted that there were five incidents involving respondent that 

occurred in September 2019 and warranted the issuance of a PPO against respondent. Two of the
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incidents concerned respondent’s attendance at the minor child’s soccer games, even though

respondent did not have direct contact with petitioner or the parties’ son. Additionally, there were 

two incidents in which respondent drove by petitioner’s house after attending the child’s soccer 

games. Respondent alleged that he merely drove by the house to reminisce and did not know 

whether petitioner even still lived there. The fifth incident regarded a situation where respondent

contacted one of the adult children and asked her to meet with him. The parties’ daughter declined 

the invitation and asked not to be contacted again, yet respondent subsequently sent her an e-mail. 

The St. Clair court did not hold a hearing and denied the PPO petition. The court stated that

“petitioner has been interviewed, the petitioner’s claims are sufficiently without merit, and the 

action should be dismissed without a hearing.” The St. Clair court also reasoned that there was 

“no contact between the parties” and “no . . . evidence of [respondent] being a credible threat[.]”

Three days later, petitioner filed the instant PPO petition against respondent in the circuit 

court. Petitioner again set forth the five incidents that had been presented to the St. Clair court, 

along with an additional incident, all of which allegedly warranted a PPO. The additional or sixth 

incident took place the day after petitioner’s first PPO request had been denied and involved 

respondent’s attendance at another soccer game in which the minor child was participating. 

Respondent took a photograph or video with his cellphone during the sporting event. Petitioner 

alleged that respondent sat in front of her on the bleachers and snapped a picture of her, flipped 

her off, and called her a “b***h” in the parking lot. Respondent claimed that he simply took a 

video of the minor child playing soccer and denied taking or directing any action toward petitioner.

The circuit court denied petitioner’s request for an ex parte order. At an evidentiary hearing

on the PPO, petitioner argued that respondent’s recent stalking conduct and his history of abusive 

behavior caused petitioner to suffer reasonable apprehension of violence, warranting a PPO under 

MCL 600.2950. Petitioner testified with respect to the six incidents and a history of physical, 

verbal, and sexual abuse by respondent throughout their relationship. Additionally, petitioner

testified in-depth regarding an incident in 2011. According to petitioner, respondent became angry 

at one of their children and attempted to push the child’s head under water in the kitchen sink and 

sprayed him with the sink’s hose as petitioner and another child tried to pull respondent away. 

When respondent let the child go, respondent started shoving petitioner and both children into 

kitchen cupboards. Petitioner testified that as respondent was leaving, he picked up a bag of glass 

bottles and threw them at petitioner, causing them to shatter as they struck her in the head. 

Respondent also chased one of the children across the yard while shouting expletives. After 

respondent entered his vehicle, petitioner and her children went into the home and locked the 

doors. Respondent forgot his glasses and attempted to retrieve them from the house. But no one 

would unlock a door, so he proceeded to kick in a back door.

At the conclusion of petitioner’s testimony, respondent moved to dismiss the case, arguing 

that petitioner was relying on facts asserted in her first PPO petition that had been rejected, that 

she was engaging in forum-shopping for a PPO, and that petitioner had not established a reasonable 

apprehension of violence. Respondent contended that res judicata barred the PPO action. In 

response, petitioner maintained that the filing of the first PPO petition did not preclude her from 

filing the second petition in an effort to stay safe. The circuit court denied respondent’s motion. 

The court stated, “I feel like you’re making a motion for summary disposition and I’m going to 

deny it at this point because it’s an issue of fact and credibility as to whether or not she felt 

threatened reasonably or not.”
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Respondent then took the stand to testify. He denied taking a picture of petitioner, flipping 

her off, calling petitioner names, or abusing petitioner during their marriage. With regard to the 

2011 incident, respondent admitted that “things were getting heated,” so he attempted to leave the 

house. He denied both holding his child’s head under water in the kitchen sink and throwing glass 

bottles at petitioner. Respondent admitted that he sprayed the one child with the kitchen sink hose, 

but this was only after the children had spit in his face and were disrespectful. Respondent also 

claimed that the bag of returnable bottles ripped and were thrown when petitioner attempted to 

grab them away from respondent. Respondent argued that a PPO was not warranted because 

petitioner’s case was barred by res judicata, and that even to the extent that it was not barred, 

respondent’s actions would not have caused a reasonable person to be fearful. At the end of the 

hearing the circuit court took the matter under advisement.

The circuit court subsequently issued a written opinion and order denying petitioner’s 

request for a PPO. The court, referring back to respondent’s motion to dismiss that was made 

during the evidentiary hearing, decided it anew, treating it as a motion for summary disposition 

under MCR 2.116(C)(7) based on res judicata. The circuit court granted the “motion for summary 

disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(7) under the theory of res judicata as [to] the initial five 

incidents contained in the [p]etition.”

1

 The circuit court then moved on to substantively assess

whether the sixth incident, which was not barred by res judicata, supported the issuance of a PPO. 

The court denied the request for a PPO based solely on the sixth incident, reasoning as follows:

[Respondent’s] presence in a public place, where he did not attempt to 

interact with either Petitioner or the minor child, shows no indication of future harm 

to Petitioner. Further, although Respondent appeared within Petitioner’s sight at the 

minor child’s game on September 18, 2019 [sixth incident], both parties were in a 

public place from which Respondent has not been banned and he did not take any 

other prohibited action pursuant to MCL 750.411h which might be considered a 

course of conduct to satisfy the statutory standard for stalking.

This Court is required to issue a personal protection order only if it 

determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that the Respondent may 

 

1 Technically, the court’s action in revisiting the issue did not implicate summary disposition under 

MCR 2.116; rather, it concerned involuntary dismissal under MCR 2.504(B)(2), which provides,

in pertinent part:

In an action, claim, or hearing tried without a jury, after the presentation of 

the plaintiff's evidence, the court, on its own initiative, may dismiss, or the 

defendant, without waiving the defendant's right to offer evidence if the motion is 

not granted, may move for dismissal on the ground that on the facts and the law, 

the plaintiff has no right to relief. [See Samuel D Begola Servs, Inc v Wild Bros, 

210 Mich App 636, 639; 534 NW2d 217 (1995).]

Res judicata can, of course, provide a basis for dismissal under MCR 2.504(B)(2).
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commit one or more of the acts listed in MCL 600.2950(1). Petitioner presented no 

evidence that Respondent has shown any sign of an intent to: . . . engag[e] in 

conduct that is prohibited under MCL 750.411h[] or any other . . . conduct that 

imposes upon or interferes with Petitioner’s personal liberty or that causes a 

reasonable apprehension of violence. The Petition’s allegations and the testimony 

offered at the hearing would not cause a fair-minded person of average intelligence 

to believe that Respondent could commit one of the acts prohibited by MCL 

600.2950.

Petitioner now appeals by right.2

On appeal, petitioner first argues that the circuit court erred in granting summary 

disposition or involuntary dismissal on the basis of res judicata with respect to the initial five 

incidents referenced in the PPO petition. Petitioner additionally contends that the circuit court 

abused its discretion by denying her petition for a PPO in light of the compelling evidence that she 

presented. “An appellate court reviews de novo a trial court’s ruling on a motion for an involuntary 

dismissal.” Adair v Michigan, 497 Mich 89, 99; 860 NW2d 93 (2014).3“The question whether 

res judicata bars a subsequent action is reviewed de novo by this Court.” Adair v Michigan, 470 

Mich 105, 119; 680 NW2d 386 (2004). This Court reviews for an abuse of discretion a trial court’s 

decision regarding whether to issue a PPO. Hayford v Hayford, 279 Mich App 324, 325; 760 

NW2d 503 (2008). A trial court abuses its discretion when its decision falls outside the range of 

reasonable and principled outcomes. Id. A court necessarily abuses its discretion when it makes 

an error of law. TM v MZ (On Remand), 326 Mich App 227, 235-236; 926 NW2d 900 (2018). 

Factual findings underlying a PPO ruling are reviewed for clear error. Hayford, 279 Mich App at 

325. “The clear-error standard requires us to give deference to the lower court and find clear error 

only if we are nevertheless left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made.” 

Arbor Farms, LLC v Geostar Corp, 305 Mich App 374, 386-387; 853 NW2d 421 (2014) (quotation 

marks and citation omitted).

“[B]y commencing an independent action to obtain relief under this section, . . . an 

individual may petition the family division of circuit court to enter a personal protection order to 

restrain or enjoin a . . . former spouse . . . from . . . [e]ngaging in conduct that is prohibited under 

section 411h . . . of the Michigan penal code.” MCL 600.2950(1)(j) (referencing MCL 750.411h). 

 

2 Neither party has filed any supplemental motion or pleading with this Court nor submitted 

correspondence asserting that events have transpired rendering the issues on appeal moot. See 

Paquin v City of St. Ignace, 504 Mich 124, 131 n 4; 934 NW2d 650 (2019) (“No motion or other 

pleading has claimed mootness . . . .”). Accordingly, we shall proceed to ascertain whether the 

circuit court erred by failing to issue a PPO. Moreover, even if moot, we may still address an issue 

of public significance that is likely to recur yet evade judicial review. People v Richmond, 486 

Mich 29, 37; 782 NW2d 187 (2010). This principle or exception is applicable under the 

circumstances in this case, which is part of the reason that we have opted to publish this opinion.

3 We also review de novo a summary disposition ruling. Johnson v Vanderkooi, 502 Mich 751, 

761; 918 NW2d 785 (2018).
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MCL 750.411h addresses the crime of stalking.4 “Stalking” is defined as a “willful course of 

conduct involving repeated or continuing harassment of another individual that would cause a 

reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested and 

that actually causes the victim to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or 

molested.” MCL 750.411h(1)(d). And a “course of conduct” is “a pattern of conduct composed 

of a series of 2 or more separate noncontinuous acts evidencing a continuity of purpose.” MCL 

750.411h(1)(a). “Harassment” is defined as “conduct directed toward a victim that includes, but 

is not limited to, repeated or continuing unconsented contact that would cause a reasonable 

individual to suffer emotional distress and that actually causes the victim to suffer emotional 

distress.” MCL 750.411h(1)(c).

“The court shall issue a personal protection order . . . if the court determines that there is 

reasonable cause to believe that the individual to be restrained or enjoined may commit” the 

offense of stalking. MCL 600.2950(4). In determining whether reasonable cause exists, a court 

is required to consider documents, testimony, other proffered supporting evidence, and “[w]hether 

the individual to be restrained or enjoined has previously committed or threatened to commit” the 

crime of stalking, amongst a variety of other acts or conduct enumerated in MCL 600.2950(1)(a)-

(l). MCL 600.2950(4)(a) and (b).

In Adair, 470 Mich at 121, our Supreme Court recited the factors applicable to determining 

whether a claim is barred by res judicata:

The doctrine of res judicata is employed to prevent multiple suits litigating 

the same cause of action. The doctrine bars a second, subsequent action when (1) 

the prior action was decided on the merits, (2) both actions involve the same parties 

or their privies, and (3) the matter in the second case was, or could have been, 

resolved in the first. This Court has taken a broad approach to the doctrine of res 

judicata, holding that it bars not only claims already litigated, but also every claim 

arising from the same transaction that the parties, exercising reasonable diligence, 

could have raised but did not. [Citations omitted; emphasis added.]

[T]he doctrine of res judicata is a judicially created doctrine that serves to relieve parties 

of the cost and aggravation of multiple lawsuits, conserve judicial resources, and encourage 

reliance on adjudication by preventing inconsistent decisions.” Adam v Bell, 311 Mich App 528, 

531; 879 NW2d 879 (2015) (citation omitted). Res judicata is not intended to lighten the loads of 

state courts by precluding lawsuits whenever possible; rather, the purpose of the doctrine is to 

promote fairness. Id. We will not apply res judicata “when to do so would subvert the intent of 

the Legislature.” Id. at 531-532.

In this case, had petitioner sought a PPO on the basis of the same five incidents that were

presented to the Macomb circuit court and nothing more, then the doctrine of res judicata would 

 

4 While there are numerous acts and offenses that can serve as the factual basis for a PPO, MCL 

600.2950(1)(a)-(l), our focus is on stalking because petitioner’s arguments below and on appeal 

primarily accuse respondent of engaging in stalking. During closing argument by petitioner’s 

counsel, she asserted that “what he’s been doing clearly has established that he’s stalking.”
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plainly have applied and precluded petitioner from obtaining a PPO. Petitioner, however, alleged 

a sixth incident that had not been, and could not have been, alleged in the Macomb circuit court. 

And those new allegations regarding the sixth incident, in our view, opened the door for 

consideration of the prior five incidents in conjunction with the sixth incident.

The sixth incident drove petitioner to again seek the assistance of a court in an effort to 

obtain a PPO against respondent. And the sixth incident could not be viewed in isolation or a 

vacuum; rather, the pattern of conduct between and involving the parties, including the first five 

incidents, had to be examined in its entirety. The earlier incidents could give explanation or 

context to the sixth incident by providing insight on intent, continuity of purpose, the 

reasonableness of beliefs, and states of mind or feelings relative to terror, fright, intimidation, 

threats, harassment, and molestation. As indicated, stalking entails a course or pattern of conduct 

that involves continuing or repeated harassment arising out of separate noncontinuous acts, MCL 

750.411h, thereby justifying the issuance of a PPO to halt the ongoing conduct. Stated otherwise, 

multiple or a series of acts are necessarily required to issue a PPO based on stalking conduct, any 

one of which acts can shed light on the other acts. One incident can change the dynamics and 

meaning of surrounding incidents.5

We recognize that the transactions raised in the first PPO suit overlapped with all but one 

of the transactions raised in the instant PPO suit. But were we to rule that res judicata precluded 

consideration of the first five incidents in relation to whether a PPO should be issued predicated 

on stalking activity, we would effectively be subverting the intent of the Legislature in enacting 

MCL 600.2950. See Adam, 311 Mich App at 531-532 (res judicata cannot be applied to subvert 

legislative intent). The common law, which includes the doctrine of res judicata, William 

Beaumont Hosp v Wass, 315 Mich App 392, 398; 889 NW2d 745 (2015), governs unless it has 

been abrogated by a statute, Albro v Allen, 434 Mich 271, 286 n 6; 454 NW2d 85 (1990). Indeed, 

as quoted earlier, MCL 600.2950(4)(b) requires a court to take into consideration “[w]hether the 

individual to be restrained or enjoined has previously committed or threatened to commit 1 or more 

of the acts” enumerated in MCL 600.2950(1). (Emphasis added.) Additionally, when a PPO 

request is sought on the basis of stalking conduct, the stalking statute, MCL 750.411h, must be 

examined and it requires, as noted above, a course or pattern of conduct. MCL 600.2950 and MCL 

750.411h dictate contemplation of all relevant present and past incidents arising between the 

parties. Moreover, the common-law doctrine of res judicata cannot be employed to undermine our 

Legislature’s intent.6 A circuit court needs to have the ability to examine and consider the totality 

 

5 For example, there could be three incidents between parties that outwardly appeared innocent, 

but then a fourth incident makes absolutely clear that the earlier incidents were not innocent and 

instead involved acts undertaken with a nefarious intent or purpose. Or the fourth incident, 

standing alone, could appear entirely innocent, but when the prior three incidents are considered 

in conjunction with the fourth incident, the fourth incident could be construed as entailing unlawful 

activity.

6 We conclude that legislative intent is not offended by dismissing a PPO action on the basis of res 

judicata when the very same group of incidents or transactions were alleged in a previous PPO 

action. Furthermore, had the “sixth” incident in this case actually occurred before the first PPO 
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of the circumstances when ruling on a PPO petition. The past history of the parties is a necessary 

consideration when evaluating whether a PPO should be issued. We reverse and remand the case 

to the circuit court to again adjudicate the PPO petition, taking into consideration the five earlier 

incidents and any other pertinent history between the parties.

We decline to address whether the circuit court abused its discretion by denying the PPO 

request based solely on the sixth incident, nor will we address whether petitioner was entitled to a 

PPO on the basis of all six incidents and prior history. As reflected in our discussion, the sixth 

incident cannot be viewed in isolation—the five earlier incidents and other relevant history must 

also be taken into consideration. This is not how the circuit court analyzed the case, and it would 

not be appropriate for us to engage in the analysis or examination in the first instance.

We reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. We do not 

retain jurisdiction. We decline to tax costs under MCR 7.219.

/s/ Jane E. Markey

/s/ Brock A. Swartzle

/s/ Jonathan Tukel

 

action was filed, such that it could have been raised but was not, we would conclude that res 

judicata would bar the subsequent PPO action involving the six incidents.