My Ex-Girlfriend has a PFA on me, she contacted me about 3 months after, is the PFA still active?

Attorney answers (2)

1. Licensed in PA

   

   Charles Thomas

   West Chester Criminal Defense Attorney

   Contributor Level 16

   2

   Lawyers agree

   Answered June 04, 2012 06:35. Yes, the PFA is still active.
   
   Only a judge can vacate a PFA. And in any event, SHE IS ALLOWED TO CONTACT YOU. You are not allowed to contact her. The law very clearly states that PFAs are one-way-streets only.

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2. Licensed in PA

   

   Todd Adam Spivak

   Pittsburgh Domestic Violence Lawyer

   Contributor Level 9

   1

   Lawyer agrees

   Answered June 04, 2012 18:08. The PFA is still active. The PFA restricts you from having any contact with her. It does not prohibit her from contacting you.
   
   If she wants to be with you again, she must withdraw the PFA. She can do this by going to the same court where she got the PFA and filing a PFA Withdrawal Order. If a judge signs it, the PFA is lifted.
   
   If you believe that she got the PFA against you based on false claims, there is a remedy available to you. In Pennsylvania, Section 6117(b) of the Protection From Abuse Act is entitled “Remedies for Bad Faith.” It states that if a person filed a PFA in bad faith, “a court shall direct the individual to pay to the defendant actual damages and reasonable attorney fees.”
   
   To prove that she acted in bad faith, you would need to show that she intentionally misused the PFA process at your expense. This may be difficult to prove based solely on her notes. Additional evidence of bad faith would be helpful to such a claim. Of course, if she was willing to admit bad faith to the court, your claim would become stronger.

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