Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida
Hello I am a 20 year old male, and a friend of mine (also 20, or 19) and I have recently gotten into an argument. It started when he threw water on me as a joke. He missed me mostly and soaked my iPod Touch. Although my iPod is fine, I did not know that at the time and so I poured ice water on him, and he retaliated by pouring water on my PlayStation 3. I have not turned it back on yet so I'm not sure if it's ruined. When he went to the bathroom soon after wetting my PS3, I took his cell phone and went into my room and locked the room's door. He went up to the door and kicked it in. After I heard him kick down my door I let him inside, and then went outside myself and tried to seal him in my room by holding the door shut, but he stuck his foot out and choked me. I felt threatened at that time, and I was also very angry and did not want to give his phone back. So, I went into the bathroom next door and barricaded it shut with my body. He managed to get it open a little bit and stick part of his body in the bathroom. He then proceeded to hit me and pull my hair. He also said at this time, "I will hurt you." I did not give the phone back to him until he agreed not to break any more of my things and to respect my belongings. After this was over and he got his phone back, he stormed out of the house and tore my thermostat off the wall on his way out.
To summarize, although he was not completely unprovoked, I did absolutely no permanent damage to anything of his. The only damage suffered by him was a wet T-shirt (and the cell phone which I gave back within 5 minutes) and some red marks on his chest and back (he had taken his wet shirt off) from when he attempted to get in the bathroom I barricaded myself in. I was choked, hit, and had my hair pulled, and I also have a door that no longer locks, a broken thermostat, and possibly a broken PS3. I believe his actions were seriously out of line, considering how little I did to him.
Is there any legal action I can threaten him with? I don't want to sue him, but I would like to show him that he cannot simply do whatever he wants in my house. He has a long history of showing no respect for any of my possessions, often throwing things or doing other dangerous things in my house.
Perhaps a restraining order? Although, I don't think that would deter him, and I would be hesitant to get him arrested on any occasion.
Thanks for your time!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Grow up, the both of you. I suspect there is another side of this story. You can each sue each other for assualt. Have a ball.
If you all can't play nice, do not invite him over to your house anymore. It's really as simple as that, and no restraining order is necessary. As for the damages to your property, you can sue him in small claims court for the damage.
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