Mourad Benhalima v. Anastasiia Iakovenko
The Second District reversed a five-year stalking injunction, holding the evidence legally insufficient on both the identity and the substantive elements. Conclusory testimony that an opposing party was behind anonymous online accounts cannot authenticate those communications, and the four disparaging messages the respondent admitted sending over a two-day period neither caused substantial emotional distress to a reasonable person nor constituted 'repeated' harassment under section 784.048(2). The court also cautioned the trial court to conduct the full hearing required by section 784.0485(5)(c).
Key facts
- Benhalima worked for Iakovenko for three years and dated her on and off for two years; after the relationship ended he began dating Paulina Goldstein.
- Iakovenko petitioned for a stalking injunction, alleging that Benhalima and Goldstein created fake online accounts used to post false negative reviews of her business, that Benhalima stole her client database and contacted more than 400 clients, and that fake accounts told her daughter she was a prostitute and told a friend she was a pedophile engaged in human trafficking.
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Holdings
- A petitioner's conclusory assertion that the respondent authored anonymous or pseudonymous electronic communications is insufficient to authenticate them; testimony that a person received a…
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Why it matters
Although arising from a stalking injunction petition, this opinion is squarely useful to civil litigators handling reputational and online-conduct disputes. Its authentication holding — extending Walker v… — full analysis with a trial
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