Petitioners can seek protective orders under this statute if the parties have a child in common and the petitioner proves family violence. The statute requires the court to include an injunction in favor of the abused party or child in all “family violence cases.”1  The terms of those injunctions are set out by La. R.S. 9:362(4) and include more restrictive provisions on contact than many injunctions entered under either the Protection from Family Violence Act statutes (title 46) or Injunctions Ancillary to Divorce. And violation of these injunctions mandate termination of court-ordered visitation.2

For this reason, attorneys should advise clients about their right to seek a permanent injunction under this Act as part of their divorce or custody judgment.

• 1La. R.S. 9:366.
• 2La. R.S. 9:366(B).

An injunction under this statute includes the following relief, as defined by La. R.S. 9:362(5):

• Prohibiting contact with abused parent or children except for contact expressly allowed for specific and limited purposes relating to the welfare of the children.
• Barring abuser from going within 50 yards of home, school, employment, or person of abused parent and children.
• Barring abuser from going within 50 feet of automobile of abused parent and children.

A permanent injunction does not expire. However, a pre-divorce injunction may be extinguished if it is not specifically mentioned in the divorce judgment.1    

Petitioners generally do not request a temporary restraining order under the PSFVRA but use the statute to seek a permanent injunction in either a divorce judgment or final custody order. If emergency circumstances require an immediate TRO, most petitioners will seek one under the Domestic Abuse Assistance Act. But even though the Post-Separation Family Violence Relief Act does not explicitly address temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions, a PSFVRA TRO would be allowable and governed by the civil injunction rules in the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure.2  La. C.C.P. art. 3610 expressly waives bond for all TROs and preliminary or permanent injunctions seeking protection from domestic abuse, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault.

• 1Steele v. Steele, 591 So. 2d 810, 812 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1991). This argument should not apply to PSFVRA cases, but attorneys should be cautious and request an injunction in the divorce if possible.
• 2A plaintiff eligible for relief under La. R.S. 9:361–369 should also be eligible for relief under La. R.S. 46:2131–2143. See La. R.S. 46:2139.

One of the most important and overlooked provisions in the PSFVRA is that any violation of the injunction “shall result in a termination of all court ordered child visitation.”1  This strong enforcement provision is available to petitioners exclusively under this Act.

More generally, violation of a PSFVRA injunction can be punished through contempt in civil court or criminal prosecution under La. R.S. 14:79. Contempt is punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.2  The defendant may be arrested and criminally prosecuted for violation of the TRO after service or violation of the preliminary or permanent injunction after issuance.3

• 1La. R.S. 9:366(B). However, many trial judges will refuse to apply this law to terminate visitation.
• 2La. R.S. 13:4611(b).
• 3La. R.S. 14:79. For further discussion of contempt proceedings and double jeopardy, see Section 4.7.1.

These injunctions, if granted at divorce, should be included in the divorce judgment and must also be reduced to a Uniform Abuse Prevention Order form for submission to the LPOR.