In re Chelle

• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: Opinion by Leahy, J.
• Decision Date: 06 July 2016
• Docket Number: No. 1259,1259
• Citation: Chelle v. Ghazzaoui, No. 1259 (Md. App. Jul 06, 2016)
• Parties: CAROLINA V. CHELLE v. RAMEZ A. GHAZZAOUI

CAROLINA V. CHELLE v. RAMEZ A. GHAZZAOUI

No. 1259

COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS OF MARYLAND

September Term, 2013

July 6, 2016

UNREPORTED

Berger, Leahy, Raker, Irma S. (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

Opinion by Leahy, J.

*This is an unreported opinion, and it may not be cited in any paper, brief, motion, or other document filed in this Court or any other Maryland Court as either precedent within the rule of stare decisis or as persuasive authority. Md. Rule 1-104.

This appeal emerges from a 60-count complaint filed by Appellee Ramez Ghazzaoui against his former spouse, Appellant Carolina Chelle, following their divorce in 2011.¹ It is but one in an arduous series of actions filed by the parties against each other since 2008.

Mr. Ghazzaoui filed the complaint in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, including a separate action against Ms. Chelle on behalf of the parties' minor daughter, M.G. Mr. Ghazzaoui alleged a variety of claims, including defamation, assault, battery, false arrest, nuisance, fraud, abuse of process, and intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED"). Following a seven-day jury trial, Mr. Ghazzaoui received a $420,825.00 judgment, from which Ms. Chelle appeals.

On appeal, Ms. Chelle asks this Court to consider:

I. "Did the trial court err in failing to instruct the jury to disregard—and continuing to admit—highly prejudicial evidence that was relevant only to unfounded claims by Ghazzaoui that were dismissed mid-trial?"

II. "Did the trial court err in barring evidence of Ms. Chelle's well-founded fear of Ghazzaoui based on years of abuse, which was relevant to whether she reported Ghazzaoui's protective-order violations and ongoing abuse based on genuine fear and with probable cause?"

III. "Is there sufficient evidence to support Ghazzaoui's two abuse-of-process claims (Counts 38 and 47), even though Ghazzaoui proved neither (i) misuse of a legal proceeding by Ms. Chelle, nor (ii) that he was subjected to an arrest or property seizure?"

IV. "Is there sufficient evidence to support Ghazzaoui's two IIED claims (Counts 20 and 46), even though the record evidence reflects no "extreme" or "outrageous" conduct by Ms. Chelle?"²

We reverse on the third and fourth issues and conclude that there is not sufficient evidence to support Mr. Ghazzaoui's abuse of process or intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. Notwithstanding this, we cannot agree with Ms. Chelle's first and second contentions. Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, vacate in part, and remand for a calculation of damages.

BACKGROUND

The following factual background is derived from testimony given by the parties during a jury trial conducted in the underlying case over seven days in January and February 2013, as well as from the parties' divorce proceeding and prior opinions of this Court.

Ms. Chelle and Mr. Ghazzaoui were married on December 22, 2001, in Montevideo, Uruguay. One daughter, [M.G.], was born to the marriage on December 6, 2003. After encountering marital difficulties in the spring of 2008, Mr. Ghazzaoui requested that Ms. Chelle sign a post-nuptial agreement detailing certain conditions that had to be honored for the couple to remain together.³ Those conditions were not met to Mr. Ghazzaoui's satisfaction, and on June 14, 2008, he informed Ms. Chelle that he thought they should divorce.

As this Court previously recounted, "[o]n July 1, 2008, [Ms. Chelle] took [M.G.], along with some belongings and [Mr. Ghazzaoui's] computer, and left the marital home. [Ms. Chelle] successfully sought a protective order in the District Court for Anne Arundel County on the basis of alleged abuse by [Mr. Ghazzaoui.]" Chelle v. Ghazzaoui, No. 2052/80, Sept. Term 2010/2011, slip op. at 2 (filed January 31, 2012). Ms. Chelle filed a complaint for divorce against him on July 2, 2008. Mr. Ghazzaoui filed a complaint forcustody on the same day, which he later amended to become a complaint for custody and divorce. The two actions were eventually consolidated in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.

The petition for the July 1 protective order alleged that Mr. Ghazzaoui engaged in abusive behaviors toward Ms. Chelle—including raping her, threating to cut her neck and leave her paralyzed, and extensive monitoring of her whereabouts and correspondence—and requested that he not attempt to contact her or M.G. On July 8, 2008, the final protective order was granted. Thereafter, Mr. Ghazzaoui was swiftly charged in Montgomery County (where he was living at the time) with three counts of violating the protective order—including a charge for re-entering the marital home and contacting Ms. Chelle directly—and one criminal count for stalking Ms. Chelle. These charges resulted in Mr. Ghazzaoui's arrest and detention for two days. The charges were later nol prossed on August 14, 2008.

Mr. Ghazzaoui testified at trial that he was then charged in Anne Arundel County on August 18, 2008, with the same offense—re-entry into the marital home—that he was charged with in Montgomery County. According to Mr. Ghazzaoui, this charge was eventually dropped two years later, in 2010.

A second protective order violation was filed against Mr. Ghazzaoui on October 22, 2008, in Howard County. At trial, Mr. Ghazzaoui explained that on that day he was attempting to locate the office of Child Protective Services in advance of an interview scheduled at that office on October 31, 2008. He found the office, knocked on the doorand inquired whether the employee who would be conducting the investigation was available. He was told that she was not, at which time Mr. Ghazzaoui claims he first noticed Ms. Chelle's car in the parking lot. After an exchange with the employee who answered the door, he left the premises. He then discovered that a warrant had been issued for his arrest for violating the protective order, and voluntarily submitted to police custody in Howard County. Mr. Ghazzaoui admitted in his testimony that a police officer from Howard County actually filed the charge, not Ms. Chelle.⁴

During the pendente lite hearing in the couple's divorce case held in October 2008, Mr. Ghazzaoui agreed to relinquish custody of M.G. to Ms. Chelle in exchange for Ms. Chelle dropping the protective order.⁵ By consent order, the July 1 protective order was dismissed.

"Surveillance"

On the night of November 30, 2008, Mr. Ghazzaoui repeatedly called Ms. Chelle's residence prompting Ms. Chelle to notify the police, who, according to Ms. Chelle, instructed her to petition for a second protective order. Ms. Chelle subsequently petitioned for this protective order on December 1, 2008. At trial, Mr. Ghazzaoui challenged thecross-examiner's question about his repeated calls to Ms. Chelle on November 30, and Mr. Ghazzaoui was asked to read the first paragraph of the petition into the record:

"On or before November 30, 2008, [Mr. Ghazzaoui] has been incessantly calling my home and has been threatening me, if I don't answer the numerous telephone calls, we have an agreement that the respondent is entitled to make one call per day around 7:00 p.m. to speak with our daughter. On November 30, 2008, even after respondent has already spoken with our daughter, he harassed me by continuing to call my home at 7:33 p.m., he called again at 8:25 when our daughter was in the bathtub. Then again at 10:02 p.m. and at 10:06. He left a threatening message saying Carolina you asked for it and you are going to get it now and he continued calling at 10:26 p.m., 10:22, 10:28, 10:29."

When asked, "you don't believe you called the 20 or 30 or 40 times that you testified to in front of [the Judge in the divorce proceeding]. . .[,]" Mr. Ghazzaoui responded: "According to my recollection, 10 to 20. According to my testimony before [the Judge in the divorce proceeding], 20 to 30. So it has to be somewhere between 10 and 30, sir." Mr. Ghazzaoui did not deny leaving a threatening message.

As reflected in the following cross-examination testimony, Mr. Ghazzaoui readily admitted that, during the parties' marriage and divorce, he undertook various types of surveillance of Ms. Chelle:

[MS. CHELLE'S COUNSEL]: Now, you said earlier that it was your investigator who planted the GPS device in 2009, do you recall that?

[MR. GHAZZAOUI]: Correct.

[MS. CHELLE'S COUNSEL]: And was your investigator also videotaping the home?

[MR. GHAZZAOUI]: Yes.

[MS. CHELLE'S COUNSEL]: And you instituted surveillance measures on Ms. Ghazzaoui - - Mrs. Ghazzaoui?

[MR. GHAZZAOUI]: On Ms. Chelle? Various types of surveillance at different points in time, yes. A large number of surveillance at different points in time, yes. A large number of surveillance. Yes.

[MS. CHELLE'S COUNSEL]: What do you mean by a large number? What type of surveillance?

[MR. GHAZZAOUI]: Well, we have talked about GPS, we have talked about the private investigator. We have talked about recording my face to face conversations with her. We have talked about tapping her phone line, we have talked about looking into her phone statements, her bank accounts. What else have we not talked about? I think that pretty much covers it. But it was pretty intensive, that is for sure.

Child Abuse Allegations

The custody and divorce case proceeded before a judge in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County from 2008 to 2011. Chelle v. Ghazzaoui, No. 2052/80, Sept. Term 2010/2011 (filed January 31, 2012), slip op. at 2. During these proceedings Ms. Chelle brought allegations of child abuse against Mr. Ghazzaoui. Ms. Chelle explained during her testimony in the underlying case that when she left the marital home on July 1, 2008, she took with her Mr. Ghazzaoui's computer, allegedly at the urging of her attorney. Sometime after July 17, 2008, Ms. Chelle went to her lawyer's office, where the computer was being held, in order to search it for family pictures. Ms. Chelle testified that, during that search, she came across a folder that contained child pornography. On August 20, 2008, she...