Parocha v. Parocha

Eve Canfield is a board member of Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley.  She wrote an amicus brief on behalf of five nonprofit organizations in support of a victim of domestic violence that left her home state and came to Colorado with their child, in Parocha v. Parocha, No. 17SC406. The amicus brief contributed to the Supreme Court’s Opinion on May 21, 2018, which established a major advancement in the protections available for victims of domestic violence and their families.

A permanent protection order was granted by county court, but the District Court reversed, stating there were insufficient contacts to establish jurisdiction over the non-resident husband.  The Supreme Court considered whether and when a civil protection order is available to a victim of alleged domestic abuse who comes to Colorado seeking refuge from a non-resident partner.

The court concluded that an out-of-state party’s harassment of, threatening of, or attempt to coerce an individual known by the non-resident to be located in Colorado, is a tortious act sufficient to establish personal jurisdiction under the state’s long-arm statute, C.R.S. § 13-1-124. The court also concluded that such conduct creates a sufficient nexus between the out-of-state party and Colorado to satisfy the requisite minimum contacts such that the exercise of jurisdiction by a Colorado court to enter a protection order comports with traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.