Judge Javier Vargas sitting in a Family Court in King County recently had an unusual case presented to him. The wife had received an Order of Protection against her husband. He was ordered to stay away from the wife’s home and work and prohibited from communicating with wife, including any third party contact. The wife alleged husband and his private investigator had violated the portion of the Order of Protection preventing third party contact. She claimed her husband and his private investigator had communicated with her attorney through e-mail. She claimed these e-mails constituted harassment and coercion which were violations of the no communications provision of the Order of Protection which she had.
The Husband’s Position
The husband’s attorney argued that there were no allegations that either he or his investigator contacted the wife.
The Judge’s Decision
Judge Vargas took note that even presuming the allegations made by the wife in her petition were true and correct, the husband’s contact communicating with the wife’s counsel did not amount to threats or intimidation against the wife. He found there was no basis to find this conduct by the husband’s attorney constituted harassment or a family offense against the wife. He further found the husband’s attorney and the husband’s investigator were not third parties who were prohibited from communicating pursuant to the court order. Judge Vargas ruled the husband’s communications amounted to “hard edge bargaining negotiations and were not violations of the Order of Protection“.
Elliot S. Schlissel is a father’s rights attorney representing fathers throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached for a free consultation at 800-344-6431 or Elliot@sdnylaw.com.
