In re McArdle
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Defendant Patrick McArdle appealed a family court order that granted a final domestic violence protective order to Plaintiff Lisa McArdle. The day before the hearing on the domestic violence petition, Plaintiff moved to amend the petition with allegations of three prior incidents: (1) Defendant had admitted to "flip[ing] out in a rage type thing" at work, pushing over a three-foot staging and portable bathrooms, and smashing holes in
sheetrock; (2) in the summer of 2009, Defendant had thrown a large rock at the back of their son's car, damaging the car; and (3) at some point in their marriage, during an argument between the parties, Defendant had thrust his hand through a window, breaking his finger. The motion to amend the petition was not accompanied by an affidavit attesting to the facts under oath. Defendant objected to Plaintiff's motion to amend the petition on the basis that she had not attested to the factual allegations. The trial court addressed Defendant's objection by having Plaintiff attest to the facts alleged at the commencement of the hearing. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of which he did not have proper notice, basing its final order of protection upon such evidence, and considering evidence of incidents that were too remote in time. Upon review of the trial court record, the Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's decision, finding the evidence presented supported the court's decision to issue the protective order.
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