Case Law & Statutes
In January of this year, the Minnesota Supreme court held that a petition for an Order for Protection based upon past domestic abuse alone was appropriately granted. In this particular case, the petitioner filed for an OFP in 2012, but failed to appear for the hearing and the petition was dismissed. In 2015, the father of the petitioner's children filed an action in court alleging that she failed to allow visitation with their children. The petitioner filed an OFP in response to the father's petition regarding visitation. Even though no alleged abuse had occurred since the actions alleged in the 2012 petition, the Supreme Court held that not only can anOFP can be found on past domestic abuse alone, but that there is also no time limit for when that abuse occurred (subject to the court's discretion).