Silva v. Carmel (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-073-14)
NOTICE: All slip opinions and orders are subject to formal revision and are superseded by the advance sheets and bound volumes of the Official Reports. If you find a typographical error or other formal error, please notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Judicial Court, John Adams Courthouse, 1 Pemberton Square, Suite 2500, Boston, MA 02108-1750; (617) 557-1030; SJCReporter@sjc.state.ma.us SJC‑11438 PATRICIA SILVA, guardian,[1] vs. NANCY CARMEL. Middlesex. February 6, 2014. ‑ April 18, 2014. Present: Ireland, C.J., Spina, Cordy, Botsford, Gants, Duffly, & Lenk, JJ. Abuse Prevention. Intellectually Disabled Person. Department of Developmental Services. Words, “Household members.” Complaint for protection from abuse filed in the Newton Division of the District Court Department on May 23, 2012. A hearing to extend the abuse prevention order was had before Dyanne J. Klein, J. The Supreme Judicial Court on its own initiative transferred the case from the Appeals Court. Frederick M. Misilo, Jr. (Marisa W. Higgins with him) for the defendant. Erin Jordan Harris for the plaintiff. The following submitted briefs for amici curiae: Joseph N. Schneiderman, of Connecticut, & Tara Hopper Zeltner for Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers & another. Donna Morelli, Christina L. Paradiso, Edward M. Ginsburg, & Nathan Morse for Community Legal Aid. IRELAND, C.J. The defendant appeals from an abuse prevention order issued against her pursuant to G. L. c. 209A by a District Court judge based on events that occurred in a residential program under the auspices of the Department of Developmental Services. Because we conclude that individuals who share a common diagnosis or status, rather than marriage, blood, or other relationships that are enumerated in G. L. c. 209A, § 1, and who live together in a State-licensed residential facility, do not qualify as “household members” within the meaning of G. L. c. 209A, § 1, we vacate the order against the defendant. Facts and procedure. The defendant and the victim are intellectually disabled adults who receive services from the Department of Developmental Services (department) in a residential program operated by a third party, Riverside Community Care, with funding from the department. Both individuals have legal guardians, family members in each case, who have been appointed by judges in the Probate and Family Court. The parties do not dispute the following facts that resulted in the complaint for an abuse prevention order: On May 22, 2012, the defendant went upstairs to the hallway outside the victim’s bedroom and, during an ensuing altercation, pushed the victim into the bathroom. As a result of being pushed, the victim suffered injuries to her head, neck, and back when she fell backward into a bathtub. The next day, the plaintiff filed her application for an […]