Castellon

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On August 10, 2012, the trial court issued a domestic violence restraining order against Nader Balbigy in connection with the marital dissolution proceeding brought by his wife, Judith Castellon. Distilled, that order commanded Balbigy to refrain from contacting, stalking, or harassing Castellon and their three children. At the hearing on Castellon’s application for that order, Balbigy admitted that he was already subject to a restraining order that resulted from his earlier no contest plea to a criminal domestic violence charge. The trial court reviewed the criminal court’s restraining order and pointed out that the criminal court had not checked off the box that would have allowed Balbigy to have contact with his children. Castellon claimed that Balbigy had, in violation of the criminal court restraining order, contacted the children to say negative things about her and pressure them into living with him, stalked her on Facebook through a fictional identity, checked up on her eBay activities, and had threatened to harm three of her relatives. Balbigy admitted that he had contacted his children by phone and in person, had been following Castellon on…