The definition of “proceeding” was finally addressed April 17 by the Pennsylvania Superior Court in Ferko-Fox v. Fox, 2013 Pa. Super. 88. The holding in Ferko-Fox is important for both the court and family law practitioners because it reinforces the procedural step outlined by 23 Pa.C.S. §6107(b), which requires courts to hold an ex parte proceeding on petitions for protection from abuse before issuing temporary orders.

The pertinent facts of Ferko-Fox are as follows: The wife, Donna L. Ferko-Fox, filed a petition for a protection from abuse order March 22, 2011, in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. As was the procedure in Lancaster County, the judge reviewed the wife’s petition in camera, without either party present, and granted the wife a temporary protection from abuse order (PFA). Simultaneously, a hearing was scheduled for March 28, 2011. The temporary PFA gave the wife exclusive possession of the marital home in addition to prohibiting the husband, Jonathan P. Fox, from having any contact with the wife and from stalking or harassing the wife’s mother.

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