Two PFA’s From One Incident Get Different Results

A recent case in Centre County, Pennsylvania considered whether a PFA filed in one county will dictate what happens to a PFA citing the same incident, but filed in a different county. The Centre County Court of Common Pleas denied the defendant's motion to dismiss on the basis that the plaintiff's PFA stands on its own merits as to whether the plaintiff was justifiably in fear of defendant and warranted a PFA.

The defendant was granted her own PFA against the plaintiff in Erie County. The defendant argued that the Erie County action basically determined who was at fault. However, the Centre County court denied her motion to dismiss on the basis that they were not, in fact, the "same case" despite arising from the same incident. The Centre County Court found that the plaintiff had her own burden to reach on the PFA; if the plaintiff had a justifiable fear of the defendant, the Court had the authority to enter a PFA against the defendant. Even though the defendant was