Evans v. Braun

12 A.3d 395, 2010 Pa. Super. 231, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4614, 2010 WL 5088761
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 14, 2010
Docket291 MDA 2010
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 12 A.3d 395 (Evans v. Braun) 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
Evans v. Braun, 12 A.3d 395, 2010 Pa. Super. 231, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4614, 2010 WL 5088761 (Pa. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION BY

BENDER, J.:

Appellant, Gordon P. Braun, appeals from the January 21, 2010 order granting Appellee, Christine M. Evans, a final protection from abuse (PFA) order against him. Braun argues that the trial court erred in finding that Evans had standing to seek such an order under the Protection from Abuse Act (PFA Act), 23 Pa.C.S. §§ 6101-6122. We affirm.

The court set forth the facts of this case as follows:

[Evans and Braun] work together for a community health care provider. After meeting at work, the two began a stormy dating relationship during the summer of 2009. After an agreeable date, however, [Braun] came to [Evans’] home uninvited, causing her to become upset and ask him for space. The two later reconciled at some point prior to December, 2009. Both parties agree that on December 5, 2009, [Evans and Braun] attended a play in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On the way to the performance, [Braun] informed [Evans] he was carrying a gun. Later, when the two returned to his home, [Braun] removed the gun from his waistband, handed it to [Evans], remarked on its weight and told her it could put a very big hole in her. [Evans] testified that she did not know whether [Braun] was attempting to impress her or intimidate her with the statement, and kept her concerns to herself.
On December 17, 2009, the parties were in the midst of a quarrel. [Evans], attending a Christmas party organized by women who were friendly to one another at work, asked [Braun] to come over to the restaurant-bar, Dilly’s, to make amends. When [Braun] arrived, [Evans] was standing outside smoking a cigarette with a particularly close friend [named Tammy Harnish]. [Ms. Har-nish] went inside, knowing the two were fighting and wishing to allow them to speak freely. After [Braun] became increasingly short tempered, sarcastic, and aggressive, [Evans] turned to go back into the establishment. [Braun] called her name, and [Evans] halted and turned around to look at him. [Braun] then proceeded to pull back his jacket and expose his Colt forty-five semi-automatic pistol, held in his waistband. He told [Evans] to remember he still had the gun, and he was not afraid to use it. [Evans] fled inside, feeling threatened, intimidated, and scared of [Braun], given his previous comments regarding the gun. [Evans] testified that [Braun] has a harsh temper, and she was afraid of him. Although she told the table of [397]*397women only that the two had fought, [Evans] reported the entire incident confidentially to [Ms. Harnish] soon thereafter that same evening, becoming hysterical upon relaying [Braun’s] threatening behavior with the pistol. The next day, [Evans] reported the incident to her employer, impelled by fear due to their shared workplace. An employee assistance counselor advised her to inform the police, who in turn referred her to the office of Women in Need (WIN). The office responded by scheduling her for the next available appointment. After the appointment, WIN filed a [PFA] action on [Evans’] behalf, with a temporary order of protection issued ex parte the same date, Friday, January 8, 2010. Hearing was set for January 14, 2010, but was continued by [o]rder dated January 12, 2010, at the request of [Braun], Hearing was held Thursday, January 21, 2010.
Following [Evans’] case in chief, [Braun] moved for a directed verdict. The [c]ourt denied the motion, and [Braun] presented his case. Following the conclusion of argument by counsel, the [c]ourt issued a Final [PFA] [o]rder. As did the temporary order, the final [o]r-der required that [Braun] surrender his handgun as well as other firearms kept in his home.

Trial Court Opinion (T.C.O.), 3/25/10, at 2-3.

Braun filed a timely notice of appeal, as well as a timely concise statement of matters complained of on appeal pursuant to Pa.R.A.P. 1925(b). Herein, he raises two issues for our review:

(1) Did the trial court commit an error of law in denying Mr. Braun’s Motion for a Directed Verdict based on lack of standing made at the conclusion of Ms. Evans’s case-in-chief because Ms. Evans had failed to present any evidence sufficient to support the contention that she is part of the protected class entitled to seek a [PFA] order as defined under the term “abuse” in 23 Pa. C.S. § 6102?
(2) Did the trial court commit an error of law in granting Ms. Evans’s Petition for Protection from Abuse despite the fact that Ms. Evans failed to demonstrate that she is a member of the protected class as defined under the term “abuse” in 23 Pa.C.S. § 6102 as eligible to receive a [PFA] [o]rder?

Appellant’s Brief at 7.

First, Braun argues that Evans failed to establish her standing under the PFA Act and, thus, the court erred in denying his motion for a directed verdict after Evans’ case-in-chief.

In reviewing a trial court’s decision whether or not to grant judgment in favor of one of the parties, we must consider the evidence, together with all favorable inferences drawn therefrom, in a light most favorable to the verdict winner. Our standard[s] of review when considering motions for a directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict are identical. We will reverse a trial court’s grant or denial of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict only when we find an abuse of discretion or an error of law that controlled the outcome of the case. Further, the standard of review for an appellate court is the same as that for a trial court.
There are two bases upon which a judgment N.O.V. can be entered; one, the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law and/or two, the evidence is such that no two reasonable minds could disagree that the outcome should have been rendered in favor of the movant. With the first, the court reviews the [398]*398record and concludes that, even with all factual inferences decided adverse to the movant, the law nonetheless requires a verdict in his favor. Whereas with the second, the court reviews the evidentia-ry record and concludes that the evidence was such that a verdict for the movant was beyond peradventure.

Campisi v. Acme Markets, Inc. 915 A.2d 117, 119 (Pa.Super.2006) (citations omitted). Here, Braun avers that he was entitled to judgment as a matter of law because, even taking Evans’ allegations as true, her evidence failed to establish that she had standing to obtain relief under the PFA Act. Braun correctly notes that an issue involving standing under a statute is a question of law as it involves the interpretation of that statute. Scott v. Shay, 928 A.2d 312, 313 (Pa.Super.2007). Thus, our standard of review is de novo and our scope of review is plenary. Id. (citation omitted).

With these standards of review in mind, we must begin by analyzing whether the evidence presented by Evans was sufficient to prove that she is a member of the class of people that the PFA Act seeks to protect. The statute directs that an adult may seek relief “by filing a petition with the court alleging abuse by the defendant.” 23 Pa.C.S. § 6106(a). “Abuse,” as defined in the Act, includes, inter alia:

The occurrence of one or more of the following acts between family or household members, sexual or intimate partners or persons who share biological parenthood:

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Evans v. Braun
12 A.3d 395 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
12 A.3d 395, 2010 Pa. Super. 231, 2010 Pa. Super. LEXIS 4614, 2010 WL 5088761, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-braun-pasuperct-2010.