Packal v. Johnson

Decision Date25 August 2017
Docket NumberCase No. 5D16-3183.
Citation226 So.3d 337
Parties Bruce PACKAL, Appellant, v. Deniz D. JOHNSON, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Kurt A. Russell and Jack L. Platt, of Platt Hopwood Attorneys at Law, PLLC, Melbourne, for Appellant.

David J. Volk, of Volk Law Offices, P.A., Melbourne, for Appellee.

WALLIS, J.

Bruce Packal appeals a judgment granting a permanent injunction for protection against stalking violence.1Because competent, substantial evidence does not support a finding of stalking, we reverse the injunction.

On the evening of July 4, 2016, Packal's neighbor, Deniz D. Johnson, set off fireworks with her family in the middle of their street.Startled by the sound of the fireworks, Packal emerged from his home with an unloaded gun, made explicit verbal threats towards Johnson and her family, then crossed the street and shoved Johnson's boyfriend's son, Matthew Garcia, who had begun to record the incident on his phone.According to Garcia, the entire confrontation occurred within a twenty-minute timeframe.Johnson subsequently filed a Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Stalking Violence.

Although Johnson alleged a history of confrontations involving Packal, the trial court expressly disregarded this history at the hearing on the petition and focused entirely on the July 4 altercation.The trial court ultimately found that Packal's actions during the twenty-minute altercation qualified as two separate incidents of harassment, warranting an injunction.Specifically, the trial court found that Packal harassed Johnson by: (1) verbally threatening her and her family while demonstrating his firearm, and (2) shoving Garcia.

Section 784.0485(1), Florida Statutes(2016), establishes a cause of action for an injunction for protection against stalking."Each incident of stalking must be proven by competent, substantial evidence to support an injunction against stalking."David v. Schack, 192 So.3d 625, 628(Fla. 4th DCA2016)(quotingTouhey v. Seda, 133 So.3d 1203, 1204(Fla. 2d DCA2014) )."A person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly follows, harasses, or cyberstalks another person commits the offense of stalking."§ 784.048(2), Fla. Stat(2016)."'Harass' means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person which causes substantial emotional distress to that person and serves no legitimate purpose."Id.§ 784.048(1)(a)(emphasis added)."'Course of conduct' means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a period of time, however short, which evidences a continuity of purpose."Id.§ 784.048(1)(b).

Here, the two acts cited by the trial court amount to one continuous course of conduct, establishing only one instance of harassment.Cf.Levy v. Jacobs, 69 So.3d 403, 404(Fla. 4th DCA2011)("[T]he record evidence demonstrated that in addition to occurring in different locations, there was a temporal break of approximately five minutes between the incidents.This was a sufficient temporal break to allow [the respondent] time to pause, reflect, and form a new intent before the second attack.").This single instance cannot support a finding of stalking, which requires evidence of repeat harassment.See§ 784.048(2), Fla. Stat.Further, even if we find that Packal's actions constitute two separate instances of...

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11 cases
  • Bell v. Battaglia
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 12 Enero 2022
    ...court's reliance on a single text message comes short of the repeated acts required to establish stalking. Cf. Packal v. Johnson , 226 So. 3d 337, 338 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) (reversing entry of stalking injunction after "trial court expressly disregarded" an alleged "history of confrontations"......
  • Pickett v. Copeland
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 17 Enero 2018
    ...acts are required for "one act of stalking. " Lukacs , 982 So.2d at 1219 (emphasis in the original); see also Packal v. Johnson , 226 So.3d 337 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) (reversing permanent injunction for protection against stalking violence because the evidence did not support a finding of repe......
  • Cash v. Gagnon
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 4 Noviembre 2020
    ...of one continuous course of conduct are legally insufficient to qualify as separate instances of harassment. See Packal v. Johnson , 226 So. 3d 337, 338 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017). Further, "a ‘course of conduct’ for purposes of the statute does not include protected speech. This includes speech t......
  • Sutton v. Fowler
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 22 Diciembre 2021
    ...conduct are legally insufficient to qualify as separate instances of harassment." Cash , 306 So. 3d at 109 (citing Packal v. Johnson , 226 So. 3d 337, 338 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017) ). "A course of conduct requires multiple acts that are separated by time or distance." Id. (citing Levy v. Jacobs ,......
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