Wolfe v. Wolfe, 2014 Ohio 2159

Robert Wolfe (plaintiff) was awarded custody of two children in a 2012 divorce; Colleen Wolfe (defendant) was granted supervised visitation.
January 30, 2013 domestic-relations order suspended Colleen's visitation and prohibited her from being within 500 feet of the children.
August 30, 2013 Robert filed a civil protection order (CPO) petition seeking protection for himself and the two children; hearing held September 13, 2013.
Colleen did not appear at the CPO hearing; Robert testified to a pattern of stalking, threats, and physical assaults by Colleen, including incidents in the children’s presence and an assault on his mother.
The trial court issued the CPO covering Robert and the children, finding Colleen committed domestic violence and that protection was required by a preponderance of the evidence.
Colleen appealed, arguing the inclusion of the children in the CPO was against the manifest weight of the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether including the children in the CPO was supported by the evidence	CPO should include children because defendant engaged in stalking, threats, and physical acts in children’s presence	Inclusion was against the manifest weight—no evidence of harm to children	Court affirmed: evidence supported including children; not against manifest weight

State v. Martin, 20 Ohio App.3d 172 (Ohio Ct. App. 1983) (standard for manifest-weight review)
State v. Thompkins, 78 Ohio St.3d 380 (Ohio 1997) (defining manifest-weight standard)
Eastley v. Volkman, 132 Ohio St.3d 328 (Ohio 2012) (presumption in favor of trial court findings when weighing evidence)