Amended in Senate June 24, 2014

Amended in Assembly January 17, 2014

Amended in Assembly January 6, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 21, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1356


Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom

February 22, 2013


An act to amend Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code, relating to stalking.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1356, as amended, Bloom. Stalking: remedies.

Existing law provides that a person is liable for the tort of stalking if he or she engaged in a pattern of conduct intended to follow, alarm, or harass the plaintiff, that resulted in the plaintiff reasonably fearing for his or her safety, or the safety of an immediate family member, and thebegin delete personend deletebegin insert defendantend insert has either made a credible threat with the intent to place the plaintiff in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or that of an immediate family memberbegin delete, and how continued in his or her pattern of conduct after the plaintiff demands that he or she cease,end delete or has violated a restraining orderbegin insert, as specifiedend insert.

This bill would include a pattern of conduct intended to place the plaintiff under surveillance within those elements defining the tort of stalking. The bill would permit the plaintiff to show, as an alternative to the plaintiff reasonably fearing for his or her safety or that of a family member, that the pattern of conduct resulted in the plaintiff suffering substantial emotional distress, and that the pattern of conduct would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress. The bill would require the plaintiff to show that the person has either made a credible threat with the intent to place the plaintiff in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or that of an immediate family member, or, reckless disregard for the safety of the plaintiff or that of an immediate family member. The bill would relieve the plaintiff, under exigent circumstances, as specified, of the requirement to demand that the defendant cease his or her behavior. The bill would also define the terms “follows,” “place under surveillance,” and “substantial emotional distress” for purposes of these provisions.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

Section 1708.7 of the Civil Code is amended to
2read:

3

1708.7.  

(a) A person is liable for the tort of stalking when the
4plaintiff proves all of the following elements of the tort:

5(1) The defendant engaged in a pattern of conduct the intent of
6which was to follow, alarm, place under surveillance, or harass
7the plaintiff. In order to establish this element, the plaintiff shall
8be required to support his or her allegations with independent
9corroborating evidence.

10(2) As a result of that pattern of conduct, either of the following
11occurred:

12(A) The plaintiff reasonably feared for his or her safety, or the
13safety of an immediate family member. For purposes of this
14subparagraph, “immediate family” means a spouse, parent, child,
15any person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second
16degree, or any person who regularly resides, or, within the six
17months preceding any portion of the pattern of conduct, regularly
18resided, in the plaintiff’s household.

19(B) The plaintiff suffered substantial emotional distress, and
20the pattern of conduct would cause a reasonable person to suffer
21substantial emotional distress.

22(3) One of the following:

23(A) The defendant, as a part of the pattern of conduct specified
24in paragraph (1), made a credible threat with either (i) the intent
25to place the plaintiff in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the
P3    1safety of an immediate family member, or (ii) reckless disregard
2for the safety of the plaintiff or that of an immediate family
3member. In addition, the plaintiff must have, on at least one
4occasion, clearly and definitively demanded that the defendant
5cease and abate his or her pattern of conduct and the defendant
6persisted in his or her pattern of conduct unless exigent
7circumstances make the plaintiff’s communication of the demand
8impractical or unsafe.

9(B) The defendant violated a restraining order, including, but
10not limited to, any order issued pursuant to Section 527.6 of the
11Code of Civil Procedure, prohibiting any act described in
12subdivision (a).

13(b) For the purposes of this section:

14(1) “Pattern of conduct” means conduct composed of a series
15of acts over a period of time, however short, evidencing a
16continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is not
17included within the meaning of “pattern of conduct.”

18(2) “Credible threat” means a verbal or written threat, including
19that communicated by means of an electronic communication
20device, or a threat implied by a pattern of conduct, including, but
21not limited to, acts in which a defendant directly, indirectly, or
22through third parties, by any action, method, device, or means,
23follows, harasses, monitors, surveils, threatens, or interferes with
24or damages the plaintiff’s property, or a combination of verbal,
25written, or electronically communicated statements and conduct,
26made with the intent and apparent ability to carry out the threat so
27as to cause the person who is the target of the threat to reasonably
28fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her immediate
29family.

30(3) “Electronic communication device” includes, but is not
31limited to, telephones, cellular telephones, computers, video
32recorders, fax machines, or pagers. “Electronic communication”
33has the same meaning as the term defined in Subsection 12 of
34Section 2510 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

35(4) “Follows” means to move in relative proximity to a person
36as that person moves from place to place or to remain in relative
37proximity to a person who is stationary or whose movements are
38confined to a small area but does not include following the plaintiff
39within the residence of the defendant. For purposes of the liability
40created by subdivision (a), “follows” does not include any lawful
P4    1activity of private investigators licensed pursuant to Article 3
2(commencing with Section 7520) of Chapter 11.3 of Division 3
3of the Business and Professions Code, or of law enforcement
4personnel or employees of agencies, either public or private, who,
5in the course and scope of their employment, encourage or attempt
6to engage in any conduct or activity to obtain evidence of suspected
7illegal activity or other misconduct, suspected violation of any
8administrative rule or regulation, suspected fraudulent conduct, or
9any suspected activity involving a violation of law or business
10practice or conduct of a public official that adversely affects public
11welfare, health, or safety. For purposes of the liability created by
12subdivision (a), “follows” also does not include any newsgathering
13conductbegin delete temporallyend delete connected to a newsworthy event.

14(5) “Harass” means a knowing and willful course of conduct
15directed at a specific person which seriously alarms, annoys,
16torments, or terrorizes the person, and which serves no legitimate
17purpose. The course of conduct must be such as would cause a
18reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and must
19actually cause substantial emotional distress to the person.

20(6) “Place under surveillance” means remaining present outside
21of the plaintiff’s school, place of employment, vehicle, residence,
22other than the residence of the defendant, or other place occupied
23by the plaintiff. For purposes of the liability created by subdivision
24(a), “place under surveillance” does not include any lawful activity
25of private investigators licensed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing
26with Section 7520) of Chapter 11.3 of Division 3 of the Business
27and Professions Code, or of law enforcement personnel or
28employees of agencies, either public or private, who, in the course
29and scope of their employment, encourage or attempt to engage
30in any conduct or activity to obtain evidence of suspected illegal
31activity or other misconduct, suspected violation of any
32administrative rule or regulation, suspected fraudulent conduct, or
33any suspected activity involving a violation of law or business
34practice or conduct of a public official that adversely affects public
35welfare, health, or safety. For purposes of the liability created by
36subdivision (a), “place under surveillance” also does not include
37any newsgathering conductbegin delete temporallyend delete connected to a newsworthy
38event.

39(7) “Substantial emotional distress” shall not be construed to
40have the same meaning as the “severe emotional distress”
P5    1requirement for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
2“Substantial emotional distress” does not require a showing of
3physical manifestations of emotional distress; rather, it requires
4the evaluation of the totality of the circumstances to determine
5whether the defendant reasonably caused the plaintiff substantial
6fear, anxiety, or emotional torment.

7(c) A person who commits the tort of stalking upon another is
8liable to that person for damages, including, but not limited to,
9general damages, special damages, and punitive damages pursuant
10to Section 3294.

11(d) In an action pursuant to this section, the court may grant
12equitable relief, including, but not limited to, an injunction.

13(e) The rights and remedies provided in this section are
14cumulative and in addition to any other rights and remedies
15provided by law.

16(f) This section shall not be construed to impair any
17constitutionally protected activity, including, but not limited to,
18speech, protest, and assembly.

19(g) This act is an exercise of the police power of the state for
20the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the people of
21the State of California, and shall be liberally construed to effectuate
22those purposes.



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