Lugo v. Corona

Filed 5/28/19 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

ADALI LUGO, B288730

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 17PDRO00492) v.

MOISES CORONA,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Timothy Martella, Commissioner. Reversed and remanded. Sidley Austin, Jean-Claude André, Katelyn N. Rowe; Los Angeles Law Center for Law and Justice and Sarah Reisman for Plaintiff and Appellant. California Women’s Law Center and Amy C. Poyer; Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, Theane Evangelis, Michael Holecek and Daniel Osher as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant. No appearance for Defendant and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Appellant Adali Lugo filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO) against her husband, Moises Corona, under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) (Family Code, section 6200 et seq.1). The family court denied her request on the basis that a criminal protective order was already in place. Lugo asserts that the family court erred, because a criminal protective order does not bar the entry of a DVRO. We agree and reverse. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND On August 23, 2017, Lugo filed a request for a DVRO in family court. In a declaration attached to her request, Lugo stated that on August 13, 2017, she and Corona engaged in a physical altercation in which Lugo slapped Corona, and Corona grabbed Lugo by the neck and pushed her down on a sofa. Lugo said that when Corona let go of her, he said that if Lugo “dare[d] to do something against him” he would strangle and kill her; he repeated the threat “a couple of times.” The couple’s 10-year-old child heard the altercation from a nearby bedroom; their 6-year- old child in the same bedroom remained asleep. A criminal protective order dated August 16, 2017 stated that Corona was restrained from all contact with Lugo, and could not come within 100 yards of her. It also included a stay-away order from the family home.2