Partin v. Morrison, 2015 Ohio 4740

Liberty Partin (petitioner) and Josh Morrison (respondent) dated and lived together for ~1.5 years; relationship ended spring 2014.
Partin obtained an ex parte temporary domestic-violence civil protection order (DVCPO) on Sept 25, 2014; a full hearing occurred Oct 6, 2014.
At the hearing both parties testified pro se; witnesses included Charles Richey (Partin’s new boyfriend), Richey’s mother, and the parties’ mothers.
Magistrate issued a five-year DVCPO protecting Partin; trial court adopted the magistrate’s decision over Morrison’s objections.
Trial court relied primarily on (1) a Facebook post by Morrison referencing “I guess I tried to shoot them the other night” and (2) repeated unwanted calls/texts to Partin as grounds for the DVCPO.
On appeal the Twelfth District found the record lacked competent evidence that Partin was placed in reasonable fear of imminent, serious physical harm or suffered mental distress required for menacing-by-stalking, and vacated the DVCPO.

Issue	Partin's Argument	Morrison's Argument	Held
Whether trial court properly found domestic violence by threat of force (fear of imminent serious physical harm)	Facebook post and communications show threats and placed her in fear	Facebook post was sarcastic/commentary about a past claim, not a direct threat; no evidence of gun or direct threat to Partin	Reversed — record lacks evidence that Partin reasonably feared imminent serious physical harm
Whether repeated calls/texts constituted menacing by stalking (mental distress)	Repeated, uninvited calls/texts show pattern causing fear/mental distress	Texts/calls were not shown in content; Partin did not testify to mental illness or need for treatment	Reversed — insufficient evidence of mental distress or specific content to establish menacing by stalking

Felton v. Felton, 79 Ohio St.3d 34 (1997) (trial court must find by preponderance that petitioner or petitioner’s family/household members are in danger of domestic violence before issuing DVCPO)