TN Order of Protection Vacated for No Jursidiction

Tennessee law case summary on orders of protection from the Court of Appeals.

Ashley Evans v. Nigel M. Reid – Tennessee divorce restraining order and order of protection.

Ashley Evans sought an order of protection against Nigel M. Reid.  The trial court held that there was “insufficient cause” and dismissed the petition.  But despite that finding, it also found that there was “proof of the need of a restraining order.”  For that reason, the court issued an order restraining the Mr. Reid from coming about, calling, or harassing Ms. Evans or her family.

Several years went by before Mr. Reid came back to court and asked the court to lift the restraining order.  The trial court refused to do so, and Mr. Reid appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

The appeals court looked carefully at the Tennessee statute governing orders for protection, and noted that the court had only two remedies available.  It could either dissolve the temporary order, or extend the order.  In this case, however, as soon as the trial court had held that the petition should be dismissed, it was without jurisdiction to take any further action.  For that reason, the resulting injunction was void from the outset.

The appeals court then went on to quote a 1999 case which made clear that actions taken without subject matter jurisdiction were void, and that any resulting judgment must be vacated.

For this reason, the Court of Appeals reversed the judgment and sent the case back for entry of an appropriate order.

No. E2013-02465-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Jun. 19, 2014).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Domestic Violence & Tennessee Divorce Law | Get Safe Now.