Nelson v. Nelson
Nelson v. Nelson
Opinion of the Court
Wife appeals from a restraining order issued against her pursuant to the Family Abuse Prevention Act, ORS 107.700 et seq. We affirm.
Within 30 days after the restraining order was served, wife requested a court hearing to contest the order. ORS 107.718(8). At the time set for the hearing, the attorneys for both parties requested to meet off the record with the judge in chambers. During that meeting, the court apparently ruled that wife would not be allowed to introduce evidence or present a third-party witness to refute husband’s allegations that she presented an immediate and present danger of further abuse.
According to wife, the court erred because it denied her a full hearing on the merits of husband’s allegations of abuse. As we said in Miller v. Miller, 128 Or App 433, 434, 875 P2d 1195 (1994), the term “hearing” in ORS 107.718(8)
We agree with wife that she is entitled, under ORS 107.718(8) and Miller, to more than just a summary proceeding. The problem in this case is that it is impossible from the scant record before us to determine whether she was actually denied a full hearing or whether the court simply decided that the evidence wife sought to introduce should not be
We reject, without discussion, wife’s additional argument that the evidence is insufficient to support the court’s decision to allow the restraining order to remain in effect.
Affirmed.
Although the decision was made off the record, wife’s attorney later attempted to reiterate the substance of the court’s ruling:
“It’s my understanding that * * * this would be the hearing and we would not be able to present the witness’ testimony and the evidence that we would like to present to the Court today. We would like the record to reflect that ruling.”
The provision that we construed in Miller was ORS 107.718(6). It has since been renumbered, with minor amendments, as ORS 107.718(8). Or Laws 1995, ch 637, § 5; Or Laws 1995, ch 794, § la.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.