Chen

BACKGROUND

On August 7, 2020, Dora Chen petitioned the Los Angeles Superior Court for a civil harassment restraining order against Cui, her next-door neighbor, alleging several incidents of harassment in 2019 and 2020. As pertinent here, Chen alleged Cui brandished a stun gun at her husband in 2019 and a revolver at her and her eight-year-old son on July 30, 2020. (Cui was arrested for brandishing the revolver.) Chen requested that Cui be ordered to stay at least 20 yards away from her and her family members, their home, car and workplace, and the children’s school. The court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to this effect on August 10, 2020, without a hearing, ordering Cui to stay at least 20 yards away from Chen and her home. The order also stated that it did “not prevent [Cui] from going to or from [her] home.” The TRO was set to expire on September 1, 2020. Proceedings to determine whether the TRO should be made permanent were continued nine times at Cui’s request while her criminal matter proceeded. That matter was ultimately dismissed after Cui completed a 26-week anger management program. The civil matter was heard on April 10, 2023, two years and eight months…