Maybe it was an ex spouse or boy/girlfriend. Maybe it is/was a former employer. Maybe it was a family member that just really rubbed you wrong and you're now just sick of dealing with him/her.
As it turns out, today's story is just like that. Seems this guy came into my library a while back. Seems he was getting married in a short while.
The problem was that while Guy was infatuated with his soon-to-be wife, his dad was not. In fact, dad had been bad-mouthing his soon-to-be wife so much that Guy was just sick of dad and wanted to be free of him.
This brings us to our word of the month: Ex Continenti. According to Black's Law Dictionary, Ex Continenti means:
[Latin] Civil law. Immediately; without any interval or delay.I like it - short and to the point - which is what Guy was looking to do (be rid of dad without delay). I mean guy was fed up with all of dad's shenanigan's from the emails to the letters to the face-to-face confrontations to the honking of horns, clashing of cymbals, etc, etc.
So, Guy tells me that his friend told him that what he needed was a restraining order. Yeah, the thing with "friends" who either don't practice law or don't have a clue how the legal system works really aren't the people you need to be talking to when it comes to legal stuff.
The things is, Guy's friend was not completely off with the idea of a restraining order. Problem was, what guy really needed was a form related to Civil Harassment.
Harassment? What is harassment?! Well according to California Code of Civil Procedure 527.6(b)(3), Harassment is defined as:
“Harassment” is unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses the person, and that serves no legitimate purpose. The course of conduct must be that which would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and must actually cause substantial emotional distress to the petitioner.So, I says to Guy, "Sounds like dad is harassing you and your wife to be?!" Guy says yeah, he is harassing me. You don't have anything to can me me end (or slow) my dad's harassment, do you? . Says I, might I suggest you take a look at:
- California Forms of Pleading and Practice (Lexis; Vol. 25, Chp. 293 - Harassment and Domestic Violence)
- American Jurisprudence Pleading and Practice Forms Annotated (TR)
Thing is, Guy was smart to head over to his local county law library. He knew that we knew what we know and that we could help him find what all he needed to get moving toward a more zen state of mind (which is exactly what we did for him).
If ever you find that you are dealing with more than you can deal with, why not head over to your local county law library to see if we can't help you get more zen?
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