From Brast v. Brast, decided yesterday by the Texas Court of Appeals (Houston), in an opinion by Justice Margaret "Meg" Poissant, joined by Justices Frances Bourliot and Meagan Hassan.
[Plaintiff] David [Brast] and [Defendant] Randy [Brast] are brothers and neighbors, and [Defendant] Ryan [Brast] is Randy's son. David and his wife, Janet, and on behalf of their son Matthew, sought a protective order from Randy and Ryan for a minimum of two years, arguing that they were in grave fear of serious bodily injury. Appellees asked that the trial court prohibit Randy and Ryan from possessing a firearm during the term of the protective order….
[The order stemmed from] an altercation that arose over a dog on March 27, 2022. The dog, which Randy said was a stray and then Ryan claimed belonged to them, wandered onto David's property. David said that he was going to shoot it or haul it off before picking the dog up and taking it inside his home. When Randy and Ryan trespassed onto David's property to retrieve the dog, the men "got into a scuffle." David testified that Randy and Ryan hit him. Randy and Ryan claimed that they were defending their property when they trespassed onto David's property to retrieve the dog.
For the next four days, Randy and Ryan fired firearms outside of their property and adjacent to David's property, including after midnight. David testified that on the third day, one of the men drove his truck to the side of the property line with David, rolled down his window, and fired gunshots into the ground while facing in David's direction. Finally, David testified that he feared for his life and he feared Randy and Ryan will "come in [and] kill me one night or one evening-me and my family." Janet also testified that she feared for her and her family's life during the events of March 27 and in the future.
[Ryan's friend] Grayson testified about the scuffle and about ownership of the dog that led to the incident, confirming that he had given the dog as a puppy to Randy's daughter. When Ryan testified, he denied striking his uncle David, threatening David or his son, or later discharging a firearm in the middle of the night. Instead, he claimed that on March 27 he was only retrieving his family dog after David threatened repeatedly to shoot it.
The court issued one-year protective orders against Randy and Ryan, which included a ban on their "possessing firearms or ammunition." They defended in part on the grounds that "the[ir] actions were justified under Texas Penal Code § 9.41(b), concerning actions taken in the defense of property":
