A.M.D. ex rel. A.D. v. T.A.B.

178 A.3d 889
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 30, 2018
DocketNo. 3049 EDA 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 178 A.3d 889 (A.M.D. ex rel. A.D. v. T.A.B.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
A.M.D. ex rel. A.D. v. T.A.B., 178 A.3d 889 (Pa. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

OPINION BY

FORD ELLIOTT, P.J.E.:

T.A.B. appeals from the August 24, 2016 final order for protection of victims of intimidation (“PFI”) entered in the Court of Common Pleas of Pike County pursuant to the Protection of Victims of Sexual Violence or Intimidation Act, 42 Pa.C.S.A §§ 62A01-62A20 (the “Act”). We affirm.

The trial court set forth the following:
On July 25, 2016, [A.M.D. (“Mother”) ] filed a Protection from Intimidation Petition on behalf of her daughter, [A.D. (“victim”) ], against [appellant]. The parties are neighbors whose property lines border one another. At which time the Honorable President Judge Joseph F. Kameen issued a temporary Protection from Intimidation order and scheduled a hearing for August 3, 2016, which was continued to August 24, 2016. This Court entered the [PFI] at issue following that hearing. Criminal proceedings were also initiated and completed in several instances involving these parties, including a conviction of [appellant] for harassment under 18 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 2709(a)(3) .... District Justice Menditto first convicted [appellant] under this section, [and] the Honorable Gregory H. Chelak upheld the conviction on appeal to the Court of Common Pleas of Pike County.
At the hearing, [Mother] and [victim] testified to numerous incidents with [appellant]. The initial incident occurred on July 5, 2015, in a Facebook post written following an undescribed incident with some neighborhood children, [appellant] referred to [victim] as “the Birchwood Lake whore.” More Facebook posts followed from [appellant], which suggested [appellant] would “go to jail” if something happened to her children because of [victim’s] family; and a post where [appellant] posted to [victim’s] older sister, [K.A.], “Wake up, cut yourself. Your brother wants to kill himself... [.] ”
A second incident occurred sometime in July, 2015 where [appellant] ran [victim] and some of her friends off the road with her vehicle. A group consisting of [victim], her brother[, G.D.], and four friends walked to the community pool. As [appellant] sped past the group, one of the minors asked [appellant] to “please slow down,” to which [appellant] stopped and exited the vehicle, and an argument ensued which ended when [appellant] stated to [G.D.], “Why .don’t you go home and stab a dog?” prior to driving away. [Victim] testified she was in fear for her safety during that incident.
As a result of [victim’s] fear of [appellant], she stopped going to the community pool which- she frequented during 'the summer months. Since the filing of the' instant action, [appellant] appeared at the community pool during the summer of 2016- much more frequently than before, [appellant] sat at a table while at the pool and [victim] .felt intimidated, “whenever I was there she was always there... [.] ” A lifeguard asked [appellant] to leave the community pool following an argument with the [victim’s] entire family on July 17, 2016, where [appellant] went “completely crazy.”
- An incident occurred as to a property line dispute on August 30, 2015, where [appellant] called [G.D.] a “fucking fag-got with his fucking faggot tattoos,” and called [victim] “a fucking whore.”
As well, an incident occurred around the end of May, 2016 while- home alone in -her bedroom, [victim] overheard through an open window [appellant] discussing [victim’s] family with another neighbor, Tony. [Appellant] told Tony she would “take down” [victim’s] parents. As a result, [victim] called [Mother], asked her to return home, and locked the doors and windows to the house.
The most recent incident occurred in ■early August of 2016. [Victim] and a friend had- entered the Dollar General where [appellant] is employed, upon entering the store [appellant] spoke-loudly “I can’t wait on these people, I have a PFI against them.”

Trial court opinion, 11/21/16 at 1-3 (citations to notes of testimony- omitted).

The record reflects that following entry of the PFI, which expires on August 23, 2019, appellant filed. a timely notice of appeal to this court. Appellant then complied with the trial court’s order directing her to file a concise statement of errors complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa. R.A.P. 1925(b). Subsequently, the trial court filed its Rule 1925(a) opinion; In that opinion, the trial court set forth its reasons as to why it-found “sufficient evidence of intimidation.” (Trial court opinion, 11/21/16 at 4.) On July 17,2017, this court entered a remand order directing the trial court to prepare a supplemental opinion to address “whether Mother, on behalf of the victim, demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that the victim is at continued risk of harm from appellant.” (Order of court, July 17, 2017.) The trial court complied.

Appellant raises two issues for our review:

1. Whether the Trial Court erred- and abused its discretion by granting [the PFI] because [victim] failed to present evidence of intimidation as defined by 42 Pa.C.S.[A. § ]62A03[?]
2. Whether the Trial Court erred and abused its discretion by including language in the [PFI] which mandated that [a]ppellant stay at least fifty (50) feet away from [victim], when no such authority was granted to the Court[?]

Appellant’s brief at 5.

Appellant first claims that the evidence of intimidation -was insufficient to allow the trial court to enter the PFI against her because Mother, on behalf of the victim, “failed to present any evidence that [a]ppellant had intended to harass or intimidate the alleged victim-as required by the Act.” (Appellant’s brief at 12.) This issue requires us to interpret the Act.

The Statutory Construction Act of 1972, 1 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 1501-1991, guides our interpretation of a statute.

The objective of all interpretation and construction of statutes is to ascertain and effectuate the legislative intent behind the statute. 1 Pa.C,S.[A.] § 1921(a). When the plain .language of a statute is clear and free from all ambiguity, it is the best indication of legislative intent. 1 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 1921(b); see also Chanceford Aviation v. Chanceford Twp. Bd. of Supervisors, 592 Pa. 100, 923 A.2d 1099, 1104 (2007).
When, however, the words of a statute are ambiguous, a number of factors are used in determining legislative intent, including the purpose of the statute and the consequences of a particular interpretation. 1 Pa.C.S.[A.] § 1921(c). Furthermore, “it is axiomatic that in determining legislative intent, all sections of a statute must be read together and in conjunction with each other, and construed with reference to the entire statute.” Hoffman Mining Co., Inc., v. Zoning Hearing Bd. of Adams Twp., Cambria Cntg., 612 Pa. 598, 32 A.3d 587

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Montgomery County v. Barzilayeva, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2026
A.M.L. v. J.R.
2026 Pa. Super. 23 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2026)
Denton, L. v. Delauter, J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2025
In Re: R.H.M., a Minor
2023 Pa. Super. 174 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023)
Pietz, S. v. Hadrych, B.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2023
Redd, A. v. Spaulding, M.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2022
K.N.B. v. M.D., Aplt.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
L.C. v. R.T.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2021
N.E.B. on Behalf of N.P.B. and N.A.B. v. S.S.J.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020
K.N.B. v. M.D.
2020 Pa. Super. 16 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2020)
C.E.D. v. S.F.
Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2018

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
178 A.3d 889, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amd-ex-rel-ad-v-tab-pasuperct-2018.