Vincent, Bennett v. Eden Michaels

── Vincent, Bennett v. Eden Michaels ── Court: Supreme Court of Delaware Date: May 06, 2026 Category: General IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE BENNETT VINCENT,1 § § No. 346, 2025 Respondent Below, § Appellant, § Court Below–Family Court § of the State of Delaware v. § § File No. CN24-05194 EDEN MICHAELS, § Petition No. 24-23335 § Petitioner Below, § Appellee. § Submitted: February 13, 2026 Decided: May 6, 2026 Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; LEGROW and GRIFFITHS, Justices. ORDER After consideration of the appellant’s opening brief and the Family Court record, it appears to the Court that: (1) Bennett Vincent appeals the Family Court’s order affirming a commissioner’s order granting the appellee’s petition for a protection-from-abuse (“PFA”) order. We find no error or abuse of discretion in the Family Court’s decision and therefore affirm. (2) Vincent and the appellee, Eden Michaels, were married in 2019 and share a child together—a girl, born in November 2020 (the “Child”). On October 4, 1 The Court previously assigned pseudonyms to the parties under Supreme Court Rule 7(d). 2024, Michaels, proceeding pro se, petitioned for a PFA order and moved for an emergency ex parte PFA order, alleging that Vincent had choked her in the Child’s presence on three occasions—once in August 2023 and twice in March 2024. A Family Court commissioner granted Michaels’ motion for an emergency ex parte PFA order later that day. On October 9, Michaels, with the assistance of counsel, filed an amended PFA petition, clarifying the dates on which the alleged abuse occurred—August 2023, mid-March 2024, mid-April 2024, October 3, 2024, and October 9, 2024. On October 31, Vincent filed a cross-petition for a PFA order. (3) A Family Court commissioner held a hearing on the parties’ cross-PFA petitions over three days in early 2025. The commissioner heard testimony from one of Michaels’ close friends, a mutual friend of the parties, Vincent’s father, two officers from the New Castle County Police Department, and the parties. Relevant here, Michaels testified about an August 2023 incident that happened at a hotel in upstate New York while the family was on a road trip. After the family finished dinner at a nearby restaurant, Vincent drove them back to their hotel. As he did so, he started a video recording of Michaels and the Child, who were giggling in the backseat. The video, which was admitted into evidence, also showed Vincent speeding through the hotel parking lot and appearing to sideswipe a pedestrian. After the near-miss with the pedestrian, Michaels can be heard repeatedly asking Vincent to slow down until Vincent parks the car and ends the recording. Vincent 2 and Michaels continued to argue as the family made their way back to their hotel room. Once in the hotel room, Vincent “came at” Michaels, and she slapped him on his cheek with an open palm.2 Michaels testified that Vincent “immediately grabbed [her] wrists and threw [her] on the bed, and hopped on top of [her], and sat on her torso, like, halfway up so [she] legitimately could barely breathe.”3 With what breath she had, Michaels screamed for help. Vincent held Micheals in this position for at least five minutes and at one point told Michaels that he would not let her go “until somebody heard [her] scream.”4 Eventually, Vincent released Michaels and retreated into the bathroom. (4) Vincent acknowledged that he had held Michaels down but argued th