In Heule v. Humphrey, decided yesterday by Florida Court of Appeal (First District) Chief Judge Timothy Osterhaus and Judges Joseph Lewis and Adam Tanenbaum, the trial court issued an injunction against Appellants:
Appellee alleged that Appellants, since October 2019, had placed numerous homemade signs in their windows and had hung a skeleton, which they would dress in outfits that corresponded to events in the lives of Appellee and her teenage daughter, on their front door. This began after Appellee's vehicle accidently rolled into Appellants' dining room, which resulted in physical damage to Appellants' home and emotional distress. Appellants kept a daily tally on one of their signs with the number of days that had elapsed since the accident.
Other homemade signs talked about May being mental health awareness month, one referenced the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and included a photograph of actor Jack Nicholson, one mentioned perimenopause and empty nest syndrome, one said "[h]ere comes da judge" around the time that Appellee had a divorce hearing, and one read, "Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are watching (or listening) sometimes a steak out is just a barbeque right?" Another sign included the language "[h]ere's looking at you kid" and contained a photo of Humphrey Bogart. Appellants dressed the skeleton in things like a straitjacket and a black dress.
After the trial court denied both petitions, Appellee filed a supplemental affidavit in which she claimed that Appellants' behavior had caused her substantial emotional distress. During the subsequent hearing, Appellee explained that she had moved from her property for a period of approximately three years after the accident but returned in July 2023. She testified about the signs and the skeletons as well as Appellants' installation of some sort of solar device. She stated, "Whether it's listening I'm not really sure." She also testified about how difficult it had been for her to see Appellants' signs and knowing that her daughter, who claimed to have had nightmares about Appellants, was affected by them. She described one verbal altercation she had with Appellant Frank Heule over the fence that separated their properties.
Appellee's daughter testified that she had never spoken to either of Appellants, and she could give no example of a time when something she had said to either her mother or a friend became the subject of one of Appellants' "displays." Appellant Frank Heule testified that he and his wife posted the signs and skeletons in response to things they heard about in the news. He claimed to have pointed a camera down his driveway, not at Appellee's home. Appellant Judy Heule testified about the distress that the accident with Appellee's vehicle had caused her and her husband, about how the couple chooses to "put [their] thoughts out there," and about how she had looked up Appellee's name in court records.
