Edelstein v. Edelstein

2025 Ohio 4686
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided October 10, 2025·No. C-240626·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

[Cite as Edelstein v. Edelstein, 2025-Ohio-4686.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

ELIOTT EDELSTEIN, : APPEAL NO. C-240626 TRIAL NO. DV-2400381 Petitioner-Appellee, :

vs. : JUDGMENT ENTRY

KIMBERLY EDELSTEIN, :

Respondent-Appellant. :

This cause was heard upon the appeal, the record, the briefs, and arguments. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed for the reasons set forth in the Opinion filed this date. Further, the court holds that there were reasonable grounds for this appeal, allows no penalty, and orders that costs are taxed under App.R. 24. The court further orders that 1) a copy of this Judgment with a copy of the Opinion attached constitutes the mandate, and 2) the mandate be sent to the trial court for execution under App.R. 27.

To The Clerk: Enter upon the Journal of the Court on 10/10/2025 per Order of the Court.

By:________________________ Administrative Judge [Cite as Edelstein v. Edelstein, 2025-Ohio-4686.]

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT OF OHIO HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO

ELIOTT EDELSTEIN, : APPEAL NO. C-240626 TRIAL NO. DV-2400381 Petitioner-Appellee, :

vs. : OPINION KIMBERLY EDELSTEIN, :

:

Civil Appeal From: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division

Judgment Appealed From Is: Affirmed

Date of Judgment Entry on Appeal: October 10, 2025

Eliott Edelstein, pro se,

Kimberly Edelstein, pro se. OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

NESTOR, Judge.

{¶1} This appeal stems from ongoing divorce litigation between respondent-

appellant Kimberly Edelstein and petitioner-appellee Eliott Edelstein. After Kimberly

repeatedly violated the trial court’s stay-away order and allegedly made Eliott fear for

his safety, Eliott petitioned the court for a Domestic Violence Civil Protection Order

(“DVCPO”). The court first issued an ex parte order and then a final order after an

evidentiary hearing.

{¶2} Kimberly maintains the trial court lacked jurisdiction to issue the

DVCPO and, in granting the order, improperly weighed the evidence. However,

because Kimberly waived the defense of lack of personal jurisdiction and because the

trial court’s findings were supported by competent, credible evidence, we cannot say

the trial court erred by granting the DVCPO. Therefore, we overrule Kimberly’s eight

assignments of error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I. Factual and Procedural History

{¶3} The couple married in 2002. The parties later divorced, and Eliott

received sole custody of S.E., the couple’s son. As part of the divorce decree, the court

ordered Kimberly to stay away from S.E. until further order. Unfortunately, Kimberly

chose not to comply, leading to this case.

{¶4} The domestic relations court granted the first DVCPO on August 26,

2022, and it expired on February 26, 2024. After Eliott filed for another DVCPO, an

ex parte hearing was held on April 19, 2024, and the court granted the ex parte order.

There, the court found,

[Kimberly] is [Eliott’s] ex-wife. [Kimberly] has an order in their divorce

case prohibiting contact with the parties’ minor son, S.E. Since [the]

previous DVCPO expired in February, she has repeatedly contacted

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[Eliott] in order to gain access to their son. She has sent many, many

messages, she has shown up unannounced where [S.E.] was or was

expected to be at least five times. This has all happened in just over six

weeks. This caus[ed] mental distress for [S.E.] and he is in therapy due

to the relationship with his mother and parental alienation. Both

[Eliott] and [S.E.] [a]re in therapy as a result of Kimberly’s actions and

the mental distress it causes.

The court ordered Kimberly to surrender (1) her weapons, (2) any access to the

Cincinnati residence, and (3) to stay away from and keep from having contact with

Eliott or S.E.

{¶5} Kimberly maintains that she did not receive proper service of the

petition and the ex parte order. But Eliott asserts that is because Kimberly

purposefully evades service of the court’s orders and other documents. On October 8,

2024, Kimberly appeared for the final hearing on the DVCPO and fully participated.

On October 21, 2024, the court issued the final DVCPO, finding,

[Kimberly] has committed acts of domestic violence by stalking [Eliott]

through the parties’ child. [Kimberly] was ordered to have no contact

with the parties’ minor child, [S.E.] . . . in the parties’ Decree of Divorce

[]. [Kimberly] repeatedly violates the Domestic Relations Court no-

contact order. She has shown up at Respondent’s [sic] home while he

had the child with him, has secretly met with the child at a religious

service, has sent dozens of letters and packages to the child at

Respondent’s [sic] address, has shown up at the child’s camps and

caregivers’ homes, has sent the child secret messages, and more. Each

of these acts causes [Eliott] to suffer emotional distress and causes him

4 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

to understandably fear for his safety because [Kimberly] continually

refuses to follow Court Orders, the parties’ marital relationship was

violent at times, and [Kimberly] previously stalked [Eliott] at his

workplace. In addition, he is fearful because [Kimberly] continues to

claim the no-contact order is not valid even though the validity of the

Decree of Divorce was confirmed by the First District Court of Appeals

in its Entry dated 03/25/24. [Kimberly] is an attorney who should be

cognizant of court rulings and her insistence on an alternate reality

where the orders do not exist causes grave concern for her mental

stability. Finally, [Eliott] believes that [Kimberly] ignored [the previous

DVCPO orders] and did not surrender her weapon as ordered.

Kimberly, offering what she believes are justifiable explanations for her actions,

disputes the court’s reasoning for issuing the final DVCPO.

{¶6} The court also reasoned that although S.E. testified that Kimberly did

not cause him mental distress, his testimony had little weight due to his “tender age”

and previous enmeshment with Kimberly. The court found by a preponderance of the

evidence that Eliott and Eliott’s family or household members are in danger and have

been victims of domestic violence as defined in R.C. 3113.31(A). The court echoed the

magistrate’s concerns in issuing the ex parte DVCPO, ordering Kimberly again to

surrender her weapon, relinquish any access to the Cincinnati residence, and stay

away from both Eliott and their minor child.

II. Analysis

A. First Assignment of Error

{¶7} In her first assignment of error, Kimberly asserts that the trial court

failed to obtain personal jurisdiction because she never received sufficient service of

5 OHIO FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEALS

process of the petition and orders. She argues that without proper service, both the ex

parte and final DVCPO are void. “[W]e review a trial court’s finding [regarding

whether] service of process was accomplished for an abuse of discretion. Berhane v.

Walmart, Inc., 2024-Ohio-3163, ¶ 15 (1st Dist.), quoting Simpson v. Simpson, 2024-

Ohio-4, ¶ 29 (1st Dist.), citing Belisle Constr. Inc. v. Perry, 2022-Ohio-239, ¶ 22 (3d

Dist.).

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