COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND RELEASED October 5, 1995 |
NOTICE |
A party may file with the
Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of
Appeals. See § 808.10 and Rule
809.62, Stats. |
This opinion is subject to
further editing. If published, the
official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. |
No. 94-1945
STATE
OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF
APPEALS
DISTRICT IV
ANNETTE SLOCUM, JOHN
SLOCUM,
ALEXANDER SLOCUM and
STEVEN SLOCUM,
Petitioners-Respondents,
v.
ROBERT PARSLEY and
NANCY PARSLEY,
Respondents-Appellants.
APPEAL from an order of
the circuit court for Dane County:
ANGELA B. BARTELL, Judge. Affirmed
in part; reversed in part and cause remanded with directions.
Before Dykman, Sundby,
and Vergeront, JJ.
PER CURIAM. Robert and Nancy Parsley
appeal from an order imposing a harassment injunction against them for the
benefit of Annette, John, Alexander and Steven Slocum. We conclude that the evidence does not
support an injunction against Robert and that the injunction against Nancy must
be narrowed in scope. We therefore
affirm in part, reverse in part and remand for entry of an amended order.
The Parsleys and Slocums
are neighbors who feuded over a period of time about utility lines buried on
their property line. The dispute
culminated in May 1994 with an incident in which Nancy came on the Slocum
property and grabbed or pushed Annette in front of her sons, Alexander and
Steven. Annette called the police, who
issued Nancy a citation for disorderly conduct. When the Parsleys received the citation several days later,
Robert confronted Annette on her porch and an argument ensued. The court found that in the course of the
argument Robert stated "[if] you want to have a war, we will have a war in
court." Again, Annette's sons
witnessed the incident.
The court found that the
assault and Robert's subsequent statement satisfied the grounds for a
harassment injunction. That injunction
restrained the Parsleys from "going on the real estate of petitioners ...
or from contacting petitioners directly regarding utility services. [The Parsleys] shall not verbally or
physically assault petitioners at any time." The court imposed the injunction until June 1996.
Pursuant to
§ 813.125(4), Stats., the
court may enjoin the harassment of a person if, after a hearing, the court
finds reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged harasser has violated
§ 947.013, Stats. Section 947.013 imposes a penalty on one
who, with intent to harass or intimidate, physically assaults another, or
engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which harass or
intimidate without legitimate purpose.
Section 947.013(1m).
The evidence supports an
injunction against Nancy for Annette's benefit. It is undisputed that Nancy assaulted Annette after demanding
that she stay away from their joint property line. The court could reasonably infer that the assault occurred with
intent to harass or intimidate Annette in the course of the underlying
dispute. However, there is no evidence
that Nancy attempted to harass or intimidate the children. They were merely witnesses to the incident. Additionally, the court made no finding that
Nancy committed any acts against John.
The evidence does not
support an injunction against Robert.
It was entered solely on the basis of his statement that there would be
war if Annette wanted one. That
statement was not specific enough to constitute a threat of physical
assault. While it may have been
intended to harass or intimidate Annette, that one statement does not
constitute a course of conduct or a repeatedly committed act. Therefore, it cannot form the basis for a
§ 813.125(4), Stats.,
injunction.
The injunction against
Robert must be vacated and the injunction against Nancy modified to remove all
provisions other than enjoining her from physically assaulting Annette. We remand the case for that purpose.
By the Court.--Order
affirmed in part; reversed in part and cause
remanded with directions. No
costs to either party.
This opinion will not be
published. See Rule 809.23(1)(b)5, Stats.