Moret v. Mahmoud CA1/5

Filed 5/17/13 Moret v. Mahmoud CA1/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

LEUREN MORET, Plaintiff and Appellant, A133915 v. SHAYMAA MAHMOUD, (Alameda County Super. Ct. No. RF11598961) Defendant and Respondent.

LEUREN MORET, Plaintiff and Appellant, A133918 v. (Alameda County EDGAR DELOA, Super. Ct. No. RF11598962) Defendant and Respondent.

The Alameda County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order (Code Civ. Proc., § 527) at appellant Leuren Moret‟s request, against respondents Edgar DeLoa and Shaymaa Mahmoud. Following hearing, however, the trial court denied Moret‟s request for a protective order under the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act (Elder Abuse Act) (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 15600 et seq.).1 In these consolidated appeals, Moret, in propria persona, contends that the trial court violated her right to due process of law in denying the protective order. We affirm.

1 All further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code, unless otherwise stated.

1

I. STATUTORY BACKGROUND The Elder Abuse Act was enacted to protect elders and dependent adults from abuse, neglect, and abandonment. (§ 15600, subd. (a).) An “elder” is any person 65 years of age or older. (§ 15610.27.) “Abuse of an elder or a dependent adult” means either of the following: “(a) Physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation, abduction, or other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental suffering. [¶] (b) The deprivation by a care custodian of goods or services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering.” (§ 15610.07.) Section 15610.63 provides, in relevant part: “ „Physical abuse‟ means any of the following: [¶] (a) Assault, as defined in Section 240 of the Penal Code. [¶] (b) Battery, as defined in Section 242 of the Penal Code.” The Elder Abuse Act authorizes the superior courts to grant protective orders. At the time of the subject hearing, the operative version of section 15657.03 provided, in relevant part: “(a) An elder or dependent adult who has suffered abuse as defined in Section 15610.07 may seek protective orders as provided in this section. [¶] . . . [¶] (c) An order may be issued under this section, with or without notice, to restrain any person for the purpose of preventing a recurrence of abuse, if an affidavit shows, to the satisfaction of the court, reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse of the petitioning elder or dependent adult. [¶] (d)(1) Upon filing a petition for protective orders under this section, the petitioner may obtain a temporary restraining order in accordance with Section 527 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except to the extent this section provides a rule that is inconsistent. . . . . [¶] . . . [¶] (2) If a temporary restraining order is granted without notice, the matter shall be made returnable on an order requiring cause to be shown why a permanent order should not be granted, on the earliest day that the business of the court will permit, but not later than 20 days or, if good cause appears to the court, 25 days from the date the temporary restraining order is granted, unless the order is otherwise modified or terminated by the court. [¶] (e) The court may issue, upon notice and a hearing, any of the orders set forth in subdivision (b). The court may issue, after notice and hearing, an order excluding a person from a residence or dwelling if the court finds that physical or