Dad Giving Knife to Daughter Didn’t Warrant Order of Protection
- At September 29, 2025
- By Kathryn Owen
- In Child Custody
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Angela Lydtin, et al., v. Adam Blake Carringer
Mom failed to prove case for order of protection.
Tennessee case summary on orders of protection in family law.
The mother in this Bradley County, Tennessee, case brought an order of protection action against the father, her ex-husband. Their daughter was 12 years old, and the mother alleged that the father challenged the girl to stab his wife (the girl’s stepmother) with a knife. The girl later reported this incident happening after she refused to give the stepmother a number from her cell phone. The father tried to make an example of how bad this hurt the stepmother, so he gave the girl a knife and told her to stab the stepmother. The girl testified later that she didn’t really understand what was going on or why her father said that.
There was also testimony by a number of staff at the girl’s school, including a teacher, a counselor, and the school resource officer. The girl did not want to go home with the father when he came to pick her up. The officer testified that the father was calm but perplexed, and that the father asked for his help in trying to deescalate the situation. He also testified that the girl was crying and very upset, but that the father did not threaten her or look at her in a cross manner.
After a hearing, the trial court dismissed the petition, holding that the mother hadn’t proven the allegations. The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. That court began by reviewing the Order of Protection statute. The mother argued that the trial court erred in holding that there was no danger of imminent and irreparable harm. But after reviewing the trial court’s findings, it held that it had acted properly and applied the correct legal standard.
In particular, the Court of Appeals noted that the case boiled down to the trial court’s assessment of credibility. Upon reviewing the evidence, the appeals court held that the evidence did not preponderate against the lower court’s findings. For that reason, it affirmed the lower court’s judgment.
No. M2024-01298-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Aug. 12, 2025).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.
