Assault case is dismissed after "victim" pleads guilty to filing a false police report
When a neighborhood dispute resulted in the filing of a PPO, things got progressively worse for a time. The family that obtained the PPO attempted to serve it on the neighbor, who ran into a garage and called police, claiming an assault on his partner. Unbeknownst to the complaining party, the man serving the PPO had arranged to video the incident from his home. After viewing the video, police charged the "victim" with filing a false police report, and she was convicted.
Not satisfied with this outcome, the "victim" filed a civil suit against the neighbor, still alleging an assault and other causes of action. The defendants argued that the guilty verdict in the false report case had determined that no assault ever occurred, and was res judicata or "binding" in the instant court. The victim/plaintiff argued that she had no real incentive to dispute the minor criminal action, and that therefore, it shouldn't have binding effect in the civil action. The Court disagreed and dismissed the assault case.