The high court ruled in favor of William Roderick Lovell. His former girlfriend and mother of his child, Lynda Y. Mandt, had appealed the termination, according to the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Mandt initially filed for and received a temporary protective order in 2007, alleging physical abuse from Lovell. A year later, she filed for a permanent protective order, arguing Lovell continued to harass her. The trial court granted the permanent order.
In 2011, the trial court granted Lovell's request to terminate the permanent order, finding that the couple was divorced and neither had custody of the couple's children.
Mandt appealed to the Court of Appeals and lost.
Monday's unanimous Supreme Court of Georgia decision found that, "a family violence protective order is a type of 'continuing judgement' that may be subject to modification if there has been a substantial change in circumstances."
http://accesswdun.com/article/2013/10/267002