Court Opinion

ID: 9899286
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-16 17:05:40.827811+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:24.506071
License: Public Domain

FILED
                                                                        Nov 16 2023, 8:57 am

                                                                            CLERK
                                                                        Indiana Supreme Court
                                                                           Court of Appeals
                                                                             and Tax Court

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT                                    ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE
Seth M. Lahn                                              Jamie Sutton
Lahn Law LLC                                              Sutton Law Office
Bloomington, Indiana                                      Bloomington, Indiana

                                           IN THE
    COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA

L.R.                                                      November 16, 2023

b/n/f H.R.,                                               Court of Appeals Case No.
                                                          23A-PO-366
Appellant-Respondent,
                                                          Appeal from the Monroe Circuit
        v.                                                Court
                                                          The Honorable
M.H.                                                      Kara Krothe, Judge
                                                          Trial Court Cause No.
b/n/f N.H.,                                               53C08-2205-PO-000893
Appellee-Petitioner

                                Opinion by Judge May
                       Chief Judge Altice and Judge Foley concur.

May, Judge.

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                            Page 1 of 14
[1]   L.R. appeals the trial court’s grant of an order of protection to M.H. under the

      Civil Protection Order Act (“CPOA”) based on a finding that L.R. had been

      stalking M.H. 1 L.R. raises three issues on appeal, 2 but we need address only

      one: whether the evidence most favorable to M.H. supports the issuance of a

      protective order. We reverse. 3

      Facts and Procedural History                                   4

[2]   In August 2021, L.R. and M.H. began seventh grade at the same middle school.

      M.H. was thirteen years old when school started, and L.R. turned thirteen in

      1
       In the briefs and portions of the Transcript, L.R. is referred to with he/him pronouns, but L.R. testified
      L.R.’s pronouns are “she” or “they[.]” (Tr. Vol. II at 118) (capitalization removed). At the time of trial,
      M.H. self-identified with “she/her” pronouns, but M.H. identified with “he/him or they/them” pronouns
      when the parties dated. (Tr. Vol. II at 54.) To avoid confusion, we will refrain from the use of singular
      pronouns and instead will refer to the parties individually only by their initials. Any use herein of the
      pronoun “they” will be in its plural form to indicate both L.R. and M.H. simultaneously.
      2
        One of the other issues raised on appeal by L.R. was whether the Indiana Legislature intended the CPOA
      to apply to 13-year-old respondents. L.R. noted that the filing of a petition against an “unemancipated
      minor” is permitted by Indiana Code section 34-26-5-2(e), which also gives trial courts the discretion to
      transfer the matter to a juvenile court if a hearing is set, but that the CPOA provided none of the types of
      protection for juveniles that we are accustomed to seeing in the juvenile delinquency context, such as
      consultation with a trusted adult, confidentiality of identity, closed proceedings, assistance of a lawyer, and a
      process for expungement. (See Amended Appellant’s Br. at 39-42.) Given Indiana’s preference for juvenile
      rehabilitation, rather than punishment and stigmatization, see, e.g., State v. Neukam, 189 N.E.3d 152, 155 (Ind.
      2022) (“the policy underlying our juvenile-justice system is that juvenile offenders should be rehabilitated
      instead of punished and stigmatized”), we too are perplexed by the disparity between the CPOA and our
      juvenile justice system. As we reverse on other grounds, we need not reach this issue, but we invite our
      Legislature to consider providing additional guidance to Indiana’s courts about when and how it intends the
      CPOA to be applied to minors.
      3
        We held Oral Argument on October 17, 2023, in the Court of Appeals Courtroom at the Indiana
      Statehouse. We thank counsel for their preparation and thoughtful discussion of the issues.
      4
        We remind Appellee’s counsel that he may adopt Appellant’s Statement of Facts or write his own
      Statement of Facts, but he ought not present opposing counsel’s work-product as his own. See, e.g., Utica
      Twp. Fire Dep’t Inc. v. Floyd Cnty. Bd. of Zoning Appeals, 126 N.E.3d 912, 914 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019)
      (condemning “wholesale appropriation” of language from appellate opinions without proper citation).

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                                Page 2 of 14
      October 2021. In late September 2021, L.R. and M.H. began an intense dating

      relationship that lasted approximately two weeks. During those two weeks, the

      couple had frequent social media contact, and they engaged in sexual foreplay

      in a girls’ bathroom during school. L.R. ended their romantic relationship,

      which upset M.H. (See Tr. Vol. II at 71) (“I didn’t take it very well. I was very

      uhm, upset….”). Thereafter, the two would be in the school hallways at the

      same time while travelling from class to class, because they had classes near one

      another. They also were part of the same friend group and tried to remain

      friends. However, in January 2022, M.H. messaged L.R. and indicated that

      M.H. was not comfortable being friends with L.R. and that M.H. did not want

      L.R. to contact M.H. anymore.

[3]   L.R. thereafter violated M.H.’s request that they not have contact in four ways

      in the spring of 2022. First, when M.H. was in the school hallway with a third

      student who was friends with both M.H. and L.R., L.R. approached the mutual

      friend to talk to the friend for a few moments and then walked away. L.R. was

      within a few feet of M.H. and did not speak to M.H., but M.H. believed L.R.

      was staring at M.H. the entire time. Second, M.H. felt L.R. was trying to

      contact her through mutual friends because L.R. was asking mutual friends if

      the friends knew why M.H. would not be friends with L.R., and those mutual

      friends were telling M.H. that L.R. was contacting them to ask. Third, one day

      at school, M.H. tripped, and when M.H. looked back, L.R. was behind M.H.,

      which led M.H. to believe L.R. had tripped M.H. Finally, at school in early

      May 2022, L.R. approached M.H. and asked if the two “could just move on

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023      Page 3 of 14
      from what . . . happened.” (Id. at 49.) M.H. said no, and L.R. walked away

      without saying anything else.

[4]   The night that L.R. asked about putting the situation behind them, M.H.

      discussed the situation with M.H.’s father, who filed a petition for a protective

      order on May 4, 2022. 5 The trial court issued an ex parte order of protection

      that same day. On May 23, 2022, L.R. filed a motion to vacate the ex parte

      protection order, a motion to set the matter for a hearing, and a motion to

      transfer the case to juvenile court. That same day, the trial court denied the

      motion to transfer the case to juvenile court and set the other matters for a

      hearing on July 18, 2022. On June 1, 2022, L.R. filed a motion for change of

      judge, which was granted by the court the same day. On June 9, 2022, a new

      judge was assigned and set a hearing for June 22, 2022. On June 22, 2022, L.R.

      appeared by counsel and the school appeared, but M.H. failed to appear, so the

      court reset the hearing on the motion to vacate the ex parte order for July 11,

      2022.

[5]   On July 5, 2022, M.H. filed a motion to continue the hearing set for July 11.

      L.R. filed an objection to the continuance, but the court granted the

      continuance and reset the hearing for August 9, 2022. L.R. then filed a notice

      of intent to take a deposition, which the court indicated it would address at the

      5
       The Appendix provided by Appellant included only the Chronological Case Summary and the final order
      entered by the trial court. While the failure to provide the Petition or any other documents in the Appendix
      did not impede our review in this case, we strongly encourage Appellant’s counsel to provide us with a more
      complete Record in future appeals.

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                            Page 4 of 14
      August 9 hearing. After the hearing, the trial court refused to vacate the ex

      parte order of protection, re-issued the Ex Parte Order protecting M.H., 6 and

      affirmed the cause remained set for a full hearing on the request for a protective

      order on September 22, 2022.

[6]   In late August 2022, L.R. again filed notice of intent to take a deposition. On

      September 6, 2022, M.H. filed a motion for a continuance. The trial court

      granted the motion for continuance and reset the hearing on the Petition for

      Protection Order for November 10, 2022. The parties appeared on November

      10, and the court heard evidence, but the evidence was not completed and the

      hearing had to be continued to December 8, 2022. The court heard the

      remaining evidence on December 8, 2022.

[7]   On January 23, 2023, the trial court entered a final order 7 granting protection to

      M.H. because L.R. had been stalking M.H. Deleting formal parts, that order

      provided:

      6
       The trial court re-issued the Ex Parte Order because the original order had been entered without providing
      notice to, and without hearing from, the school as required by Indiana Code section 34-26-5-2(f).
      7
       On December 20, 2022, the trial court entered a Permanent Order for Protection. On January 23, 2023,
      L.R. filed a motion to correct error, and M.H. filed a motion to deny the motion to correct error. That same
      day, the trial court issued a new final order, which we are asked to review herein, and issued the following
      Notice to Parties:
              The Motion to Correct Errors is denied as it is untimely filed. Upon examination of the
              Motion to Correct Error the Court found that it had made two scrivener errors that the
              Court now corrects. One, the Respondent was present at the hearing and two, only the box
              for stalking should have been checked. The protective order has been amended. Court
              forwards to the Clerk for service.

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                             Page 5 of 14
                                    ORDER FOR PROTECTION

                                            FINDINGS

         This matter having been heard by the Court on 12/8/2022, the
         Court now makes the following Findings:

         a. [L.R.] filed a timely Request for Hearing under Ind. Code § 34-
         26-5-10(a); and/or,

         b. N/A

         c. The Petitioner was present at the hearing and the Respondent
         was present.

         d. This order does not protect an intimate partner or child.

         e. The Respondent had notice and an opportunity to be heard.

         f. The Respondent represents a credible threat to the safety of the
         Petitioner or a member of the Petitioner’s household.

         g. The Petitioner has shown, by a preponderance of the evidence,
         that stalking has occurred sufficient to justify the issuance of this
         Order.

         h. The Respondent does not agree to the issuance of the Order
         for Protection.

         i. The following relief is necessary to bring about a cessation of
         the violence or the threat of violence.

                                               ORDER

(Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 14.)

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023          Page 6 of 14
                                Section 1 – General Provisions

        1. The Respondent is hereby enjoined from threatening to
        commit or committing acts of domestic or family violence,
        stalking, sex offenses, a course of conduct involving repeated or
        continuing contact with Petitioner that is intended to prepare or
        condition the Petitioner for sexual activity (as defined in IC § 35-
        42-4-13), or harassment against the Petitioner and the following
        designated family or household members, if any: [none listed.]

        2. The Respondent is prohibited from harassing, annoying,
        telephoning, contacting, or directly or indirectly communicating
        with the Petitioner.

        3. N/A

        4. The Respondent is ordered to stay away from the residence,
        school, and/or place of employment of the Petitioner. The
        Respondent is further ordered to stay away from the following
        place(s) that is/are frequented by the Petitioner and/or
        Petitioner’s family or household members: Tri-North Middle
        School[.]

                                              *****

                                Section 5 – Duration of Order

        THIS ORDER FOR PROTECTION EXPIRES:

        ON THE 20th DAY OF December, 2024.

(Appellant’s App. Vol. II at 17-19.)

Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023       Page 7 of 14
      Discussion and Decision                              8

[8]   L.R. argues there was insufficient evidence from which the trial court could

      determine that stalking occurred. When we review the trial court’s entry of a

      protective order, our review

               is two-tiered: we first determine whether the evidence supports
               the findings and then whether the findings support the protective
               order. In deference to the trial court’s proximity to the issues
               and the witnesses, we will only reverse where there is no
               evidence supporting the findings or the findings fail to support
               the order. In addition, we do not reweigh the evidence or
               reassess the credibility of the witnesses. The appellant bears the
               burden of establishing that the trial court’s findings are clearly
               erroneous.

      P.D. v. D.V., 172 N.E.3d 306, 310 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) (internal citations

      omitted). Findings are clearly erroneous when our review of the record “leaves

      us firmly convinced that a mistake has been made. We do not defer to

      conclusions of law, however, and evaluate them de novo.” Fox v. Bonam, 45

      8
        M.H. petitioned for a protective order on May 4, 2022, and the trial court entered an ex parte protective
      order the same day. On May 23, 2022, L.R. moved to set aside the protective order and have a hearing on
      the merits. Due in part to continuances requested by M.H., and granted over the objection of L.R., the trial
      on this matter did not conclude until December 2022. We remind the trial court that Indiana Code section
      34-26-5-10(b) requires trial courts to set a hearing on a challenge to an ex parte order “not more than thirty
      (30) days after the request for a hearing is filed unless continued by the court for good cause shown.” This
      requirement exists because any delay occurring after the entry of an ex parte protective order implicates a
      respondent’s due process rights. See Allison v. Pepkowski, 6 N.E.3d 467, 470 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014) (noting due
      process rights implicated when respondent subject to ex parte order for seven months without a hearing and
      without adequate explanation for the delay by the trial court).

      Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                               Page 8 of 14
       N.E.3d 794, 798 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (quoting Mysliwy v. Mysliwy, 953 N.E.2d

       1072, 1076 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), trans. denied)).

[9]    M.H. petitioned for an order of protection under the CPOA, “which exists to

       promote the protection and safety of all victims of domestic or family

       violence[ 9] and harassment in a fair, prompt, and effective manner.” P.D., 172

       N.E.3d at 310 (citing Ind. Code § 34-26-5-1(1-2)). The CPOA’s third aim is to

       prevent “future domestic violence, family violence, and harassment.” Ind.

       Code § 34-26-5-1(3). At the same time, we must remember that “an improperly

       granted protective order may pose a considerable threat to the respondent’s

       liberty[.]” Barger v. Barger, 887 N.E.2d 990, 994 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008).

       Therefore, “a court faced with a request for a protective order must balance, on

       the one hand, the need to protect actual and threatened victims against, on the

       other, the onerous burden borne by those erroneously subject to such an order.”

       S.H. v. D.W., 139 N.E.3d 214, 219 (Ind. 2020).

[10]   For an order of protection to be granted, a petitioner “must establish at least

       one of the allegations in the petition by a preponderance of the evidence.” M.R.

       v. B.C., 120 N.E.3d 220, 223 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019). In addition, “the petitioner

       must prove the respondent is a “present, credible threat to the petitioner or

       9
         For purposes of the CPOA, an allegation of stalking is an allegation of domestic and family violence, even
       if the alleged stalker is not a family or household member. See Ind. Code § 34-6-4-34.5 (“For purposes of
       [CPOA], domestic and family violence also includes stalking (as defined in IC 35-45-10-1) or a sex offense
       under IC 35-42-4, whether or not the stalking or sex offense is committed by a family or household
       member.”).

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                             Page 9 of 14
       someone in the petitioner’s household.” P.D., 172 N.E.3d at 310. “The threat

       posed by the respondent is viewed objectively, and the threat must be credible,

       meaning plausible or believable.” Id. “Thus, the petitioner must prove, by a

       preponderance of the evidence, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that

       the respondent presently intends to harm the petitioner or the petitioner’s

       family.” Id. If the petitioner meets their burden, the trial court “must issue a

       protective order and ‘grant relief necessary to’ end the violence or threat of

       violence.” S.D. v. G.D., 211 N.E.3d 494, 498 (Ind. 2023) (quoting Ind. Code §

       34-26-5-9(h)). When entering a protective order, because such orders are

       similar to injunctions, “a trial court must make special findings of fact and

       conclusions thereon.” 10 P.D., 172 N.E.3d at 310.

[11]   M.H.’s petition was filed pursuant to Indiana Code section 34-26-5-2(c)(2),

       which provides: “(c) A parent, a guardian, or another representative may file a

       petition for an order for protection on behalf of a child against a: . . . (2) person

       who has committed stalking under IC 35-45-10-5 . . . .” Stalking has the

       following four elements:

                (1) “a knowing or intentional course of conduct”

                (2) “repeated or continuing harassment of another person”

                (3) harassment “that would cause a reasonable person to feel
                terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened” and

       10
         Because of this requirement, we are perplexed by the trial court’s December 8, 2022, denial of L.R.’s
       motion for Trial Rule 52 findings and conclusions, (App. Vol. II at 12), and we remind the trial court of its
       obligation to enter specific findings in protective order cases.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                              Page 10 of 14
               (4) harassment “that actually cause[d] the victim to feel
               terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened.”

       See Ind. Code § 35-45-10-1. The term “repeated” as used in that definition

       means “more than once.” M.R., 120 N.E.3d at 224. “Harassment” means:

               [C]onduct directed toward a victim that includes but is not
               limited to repeated or continuing impermissible contact that
               would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress and
               that actually causes the victim to suffer emotional distress.
               Harassment does not include statutorily or constitutionally
               protected activity, such as lawful picketing pursuant to labor
               disputes or lawful employer-related activities pursuant to labor
               disputes.

       Ind. Code § 35-45-10-2. As relevant herein, “[i]mpermissible contact” includes

       “[f]ollowing or pursuing the victim” and “[c]ommunicating with the victim[,]”

       Ind. Code § 35-45-10-3(a), but that list is “nonexclusive.” Ind. Code § 35-45-10-

       3(b).

[12]   In January 2022, M.H. informed L.R. that M.H. did not want to be friends with

       or have more contact with L.R. Between then and the first week of May –

       looking only at the facts and reasonable inferences most favorable to M.H. –

       four “impermissible contacts” occurred: (1) L.R. stared 11 at M.H. as L.R.

       approached and spoke to a student standing next to M.H.; (2) L.R. indirectly

       11
         For purposes of this analysis, because the parties did not present argument about the issue, we assume
       without deciding that staring at someone is “contact” that can be impermissible.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023                           Page 11 of 14
       contacted M.H. by asking mutual friends why M.H. would not be friends with

       L.R.; (3) M.H. tripped under circumstances that led M.H. to speculate that L.R.

       had tripped her; and (4) L.R. approached M.H. to ask if they could move past

       what happened when they dated. M.H. and M.H.’s father both testified that

       M.H. was emotionally distressed about the situation at school. If we presume

       that those four contacts by a former romantic partner could “cause a reasonable

       person to suffer emotional distress[,]” then the facts most favorable to the

       judgment could support a finding that M.H. experienced “harassment.” Ind.

       Code § 35-45-10-2 (defining harassment as “repeated or continuing

       impermissible contact that would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional

       distress and that actually causes the victim to suffer emotional distress”).

[13]   However, harassment becomes “stalking” only if it is a repeated and continuing

       course of conduct that causes the victim to feel, and would cause a reasonable

       person to feel, “terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or threatened.” Ind. Code §

       35-45-10-1. In L.O. v. D.O., 124 N.E.3d 1237, 1240 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019), we

       reversed the issuance of a protective order when the record demonstrated the

       parties had contentious “disagreements over money and time with children[,]”

       but “no evidence that [estranged wife] felt terrorized, frightened, intimidated or

       threatened[.]” Similarly, we have held that four non-threatening notes left on a

       car and vague testimony about the content of the notes was not sufficient “to

       prove a reasonable person would have felt terrorized, frightened, intimidated, or

       threatened” as required for the entry of a protective order. C.V. v. C.R., 64

       N.E.3d 850, 854 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016)

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023     Page 12 of 14
[14]   We find ourselves faced with a similar situation herein. There is no evidence in

       the record that L.R. ever threatened M.H. or M.H.’s family verbally. Between

       the request for no communication in January and the filing of the petition for a

       protective order in May, M.H. alleged only four “impermissible” contacts, even

       though the teens presumably were in the same hallway at the same time

       multiple times a day, five days a week, for most of those weeks. Two of L.R.’s

       contacts – the question in May and the indirect contact through friends – appear

       directed toward trying to repair their friendship because they had mutual

       friends.

[15]   We acknowledge our Indiana Supreme Court’s recent echoing of Chief Judge

       Altice’s statement “that ‘the trial court is the one to make the call’” when the

       evidence would allow a trial court to grant or deny a petition. S.D., 211 N.E.3d

       at 498 (quoting S.D. v. G.D., 195 N.E.3d 406, 411 (Ind. Ct. App. 2022) (Altice,

       C.J., dissenting), reh’g denied, trans. granted). We also acknowledge that M.H.

       speculates L.R. was the reason she tripped, because she saw him behind her in

       the hallway after she fell, which M.H. asserts on appeal constituted a “physical

       attack or harm inflicted.” (Appellee’s Br. at 13.) Nevertheless, M.H. testified:

       “I was never scared that [L.R.] would actually hurt me physically.” (Tr. Vol. II

       at 73.) Instead, M.H. was afraid that M.H. would be hurt again emotionally.

       (See id. at 72-73.)

[16]   We do not doubt that a thirteen-year-old would experience, and might still

       experience two years later, emotional distress around a former romantic partner

       following rejection by that partner. After all, any reasonable person experiences

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023     Page 13 of 14
       some level of emotional distress when rejected by someone for whom the

       person feels love. But not all emotional distress is equivalent to the sort of

       terror and fear of violence that justifies an injunction against another person’s

       behavior. While we sympathize with M.H.’s circumstances and understand

       M.H.’s desire to not see or interact with L.R., M.H.’s desire to avoid a former

       romantic partner does not justify a protective order against L.R. See, e.g., Cruse

       v. C.C., 58 N.E.3d 974, 977 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) (reversing entry of a protective

       order because there was no evidence respondent placed victim in fear of

       physical harm). We accordingly reverse the trial court’s entry of a protective

       order.

       Conclusion
[17]   Because a reasonable person would not have felt terrorized, frightened,

       intimidated, or threatened by L.R.’s four contacts with M.H. in four months,

       and as M.H. testified to not feeling physically threatened, we reverse the trial

       court’s entry of a protective order in favor of M.H.

[18]   Reversed.

       Altice, C.J., and Foley, J., concur.

       Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 23A-PO-366 | November 16, 2023     Page 14 of 14