G.C. v. R.S.

G.C., the father of K.C. (minor), appeals a final judgment of injunction for protection against domestic violence. The petition for injunction was filed by R.S., his former wife, on behalf of K.C., after G.C. administered a single spank on K.C.’s buttocks in response to K.C.’s disrespectful behavior. We hold that under established Florida law this single spank constituted reasonable and non-excessive parental corporal discipline and, as a matter of law, was not domestic violence. Accordingly, we reverse the final judgment.

On the evening of February 10, 2011, K.C., age fourteen, was being…