A divorced father engaged the services of Thomas E. Grotta to defend him against an action brought by his ex-wife seeking an Order of Protection on behalf of the party’s twelve year old son. The twelve year old son claimed the father hit him in the head, threatened to duct tape him, shave his head and repeatedly belittled him by calling him offensive names.
Mother filed an Order of Protection against father. Thomas Grotta subpoenaed the police officer who interviewed the son and made a police report to testify. Thereafter, the mother dismissed the Order of Protection and immediately filed a petition in the post-decree divorce court to terminate, restrict and supervise father’s visitation and to appoint a Guardian ad Litem for the child at hearing. After Thomas Grotta’s cross examination of the mother, and presenting evidence as to the child’s problematic behavior at the mother’s house, poor school records, excessive tardies and absences from school, and presenting text messages between the mother of the child in which the child used extremely disrespectful and offensive language relating to his mother, the court found that the mother’s story was inconsistent and lacked credibility and denied all relief requested by mother.
