Cloeter v. Cloeter

In 2008, Barbara Cloeter (plaintiff) petitioned for a domestic-abuse protection order against her ex-husband, Kurt Cloeter (defendant). Barbara submitted an affidavit, in which she alleged that Kurt had threatened her by sending her text messages that contained one letter each but, if strung together, spelled out the word behead. Barbara also claimed that she had found a 2-by-4 board in her driveway right after Kurt was released from jail. Barbara claimed that finding this board instilled fear of bodily injury because Kurt had previously threatened to beat her with a 2-by-4 board. The district court issued Barbara an ex parte temporary order and scheduled a hearing to determine whether a more permanent order was warranted. At the hearing, Barbara testified about the allegations in the affidavit. Kurt testified that he had not intended to spell the word behead. Kurt maintained that he was unfamiliar with texting and would send Barbara text messages containing random letters so that she knew he was outside of the home waiting to pick up their daughter. Kurt also testified that he had not placed the board in Barbara’s driveway. Kurt provided evidence of ongoing construction to the house across from Barbara’s as an explanation for how the board ended up in her driveway. The district court issued Barbara a domestic-abuse protection order. Kurt appealed on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to warrant such an order.