Katz v. Ramsey
| Docket Number | B317296 |
| Decision Date | 20 August 2024 |
| Parties | BARRY STEVIN KATZ, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JANE RAMSEY, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED
APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles CountyNo 21STRO02368, Amy M. Pellman, Judge.
Jane Ramsey, in propria persona, for Defendant and Appellant.
Frank D. Rubin and Iris Shelub for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Barry Stevin Katz obtained a five-year civil harassment restraining order against Jane Ramsey.Ramsey appeals, arguing that the order is not supported by substantial evidence, violates her right to free speech, and is barred by claim and issue preclusion.She also contends the trial court failed to consider a 2019 agreement between the parties that allegedly allowed her to contact Katz, prevented her from presenting hearsay testimony, and applied the incorrect burden of proof.We conclude the trial court did not err and affirm.
Katz and Ramsey had a brief dating relationship, and went out at least four times around 2016.Ramsey thereafter contacted Katz repeatedly and followed him.There is also evidence in the record that Ramsey paid for various items and travel for Katz and his sons, and wired him substantial amounts of money in 2018 and 2019.
In February 2019, Katz filed a petition for a domestic violence restraining order(DVRO) against Ramsey, alleging a physical assault and continuous harassment and unwanted electronic and in-person contacts over the preceding three years.The trial court denied Katz's petition for a DVRO on March 12 2019.
Ramsey contends that, in November 2019, the parties entered into a written agreement under which she agreed to have no further contact with Katz except by way of prearranged meetings for which he would receive compensation for his time spent with her in the form of a credit against the amounts she had given him.[1]
On May 17, 2021, Katz filed a petition for a civil harassment restraining order against Ramsey that is the subject of this appeal.This time Katz sought a restraining order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6 seeking protection for himself, his two minor sons, and two adult friends (Elisabeth Avila and Steven Gorey).[2] The petition attached declarations from his sons and his employee Kyle Kimber, describing incidents of Ramsey trespassing on Katz's residential property at night in October 2020 and January 2021.
The trial court issued a temporary restraining order on May 17, 2021 as to Katz and his sons.
On June 28, 2021, Ramsey in propria persona filed a response to Katz's petition in which she admitted "attending (sic) at the petitioner's home" for the purpose of attempting to obtain the return of funds she lent him.Ramsey denied assaulting Katz or harassing him at other locations, disputed his characterization of their relationship (which she described as "an intimate relationship over a lengthy period"), and argued that Katz's petition merely repeated the same allegations from his 2019 petition for a DVRO.Ramsey attached the trial court's minute order dismissing Katz's 2019 petition, as well as emails and bank records from 2018 and 2019 reflecting her payment of certain expenses for Katz's sons and wire transfers to Katz's bank account.
The court held an evidentiary hearing on June 29, 2021, at which Katz and Ramsey testified, as did Kimber.Katz and Ramsey were both sworn in at the beginning of the hearing, and responded to questions from the court throughout the course of each other's testimony.
Katz testified that in the six months preceding the hearing Ramsey's harassment had "escalated exponentially."For example, Ramsey had entered Katz's residential property (the area surrounding his home) through his front gate over one hundred times.Katz testified that in the six months preceding the hearing he had also received over a thousand different messages from Ramsey via email and text, from over one hundred different email addresses she had created, and over a thousand different phone numbers.Katz testified that he knew it was Ramsey because of the nature of the messages, containing derogatory messages such as calling him "the devil" or stating "F off," followed by Katz further testified that in the past 12 months, he had received more than 6,500 such emails from her.
Katz testified that the most recent emails he had received from Ramsey were from early 2021.Katz also submitted, and the court reviewed, a video containing images of his email history and surveillance footage of Ramsey repeatedly entering Katz's property by opening and entering through a closed gate, despite a "no trespassing" sign.The court asked Ramsey if she recognized the footage, and she stated, "I already admitted to it."Katz testified that the most recent videos he had of Ramsey entering his property were from May 24 and 25, 2021, after the temporary restraining order had issued.
Katz testified the harassment caused him "major distress" because He testified it was stressful for him to have to call the police or look out the window and see "somebody walking around."Katz testified the harassment caused him to feel "[s]tress for me, my business, and my sons."He further testified it was "major distress because all we have in our lives is [to be] safe in our homes, safe in our property" and Ramsey repeatedly coming in and out of his property was "emotionally disturbing."
In response to questions from the court, Ramsey admitted she had sent Katz multiple emails, including "many [that] were sent to e-mails that he doesn't have access to anymore."Ramsey also conceded that she expected many of the emails in Katz's video were her emails to him from the past year (i.e., 2020 to 2021).The trial court noted her admission, and stated: "The record should reflect that there are what appears to be hundreds and hundreds of e-mails [from Ramsey's alias] Georgia or Georgia Day, up until the present time, back from 2019."
Katz further testified Ramsey had sent letters to him from false addresses (using the address of female friends of his) and had "left several different envelopes underneath [his] door with checks" made out in amounts from $1,000 to $200,000 with the messages "please see me" and "I'm sorry."He also testified Ramsey had contacted and harassed his friends at other addresses.The court reviewed and admitted into evidence several checks, including one from September 2020 with the memo "Jane Katz."Ramsey admitted the checks were from her, "from about a year ago," and testified she sent them because she was "emotionally distraught."
The trial court stated at the close of Katz's direct testimony:
Kimber testified that on January 14, 2021, around 9:00 to 9:30 p.m., he saw Ramsey looking in Katz's kitchen window and then running away from the house as Kimber arrived in his car to drop off some food at Katz's residence.He could see her despite the darkness because there was a motion activated spotlight at the property.The court found Kimber was credible.Katz testified that he installed security cameras after that incident.
Ramsey testified she went up to the house and contacted Katz because he had "wrongly taken $280,000" from her.The court stated that, in Ramsey's response to Katz's petition, she admitted to contacting him and stated in the response that it was because of a money dispute; Ramsey replied, "Exactly."She testified she"went up there lots of times" in 2021 and would "just keep going up there and leave" because she could not tell if he was home.Ramsey denied seeing a "no trespassing" sign.She stated she went there "peaceably" and "in peace and with a calm nature," but admitted "my going on his property is unacceptable."
Ramsey testified that she sent messages to Katz in February and March 2021.She further testified that her last emails to Katz were more than six months before the hearing, that she"stopped calling him months ago," and that she most recently texted him one year before the hearing.Ramsey stated she"was doing it as a way to vent emotionally" and characterized her own conduct as her "breaking down."Ramsey testified she had not physically approached Katz for over a year.Ramsey offered to show her phone as proof she had not sent emails, texts, or calls to him in over six months, except for a "couple days in February and a couple days in March," but the court stated, "I believe your testimony."
After considering the evidence before it, the trial court stated ...
To continue reading
Request your trial