Opat v. Ludeking

Summary

The Supreme Court of Iowa affirmed a permanent injunction restricting Cheryl Ludeking's contact with Stacy Opat and Opat's family based on a longstanding pattern of harassment and conduct intended to provoke fear or anxiety. The court also upheld Ludeking's contempt finding for willfully violating a temporary injunction, concluding that procedural defects made the temporary injunction voidable rather than void and did not excuse disobedience. The court affirmed the appeal and annulled the writ of certiorari.

Holdings

1. Opat established an invasion or threatened invasion of a right, substantial injury absent an injunction, and the absence of an adequate remedy at law; therefore, the permanent injunction was properly granted.
2. The injunction prohibiting conduct toward Opat or her family intended to provoke fear or anxiety was sufficiently clear and narrowly drawn.
3. The failure to make the certification required by Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.1507 rendered the temporary injunction, at most, voidable rather than void.
4. A temporary injunction that is merely voidable remains valid and binding until dissolved or vacated, and a party may be punished for contempt for violating it.
5. Substantial evidence supported the finding that Ludeking willfully violated the temporary injunction by knowingly remaining within several feet of Opat and her children for at least eight minutes.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence established the prerequisites for permanent injunctive relief.
2. Whether the permanent injunction was impermissibly vague or overbroad in prohibiting conduct intended to provoke fear or anxiety in Opat.
3. Whether the temporary injunction was void because Opat's attorney failed to make the certification required by Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.1507 for an injunction issued without notice.
4. Whether the temporary injunction could support a contempt finding despite the procedural defect in its issuance.
5. Whether substantial evidence supported the district court's finding that Ludeking willfully violated the temporary injunction.

Disposition

writ_denied