Judge Dissolves Olivier Martinez's Restraining Order Against Halle Berry and Denies a Protective Order, but Keeps Her Visitation Limits

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Thursday dissolved the temporary domestic violence restraining order that Olivier Martinez obtained against his ex-wife, Halle Berry, and denied his request for a longer protective order, according to a minute order reviewed by the Los Angeles Times. The judge left in place limits on Berry's time with their 13-year-old son.

Judge Shelley Kaufman ruled after two weeks of closed hearings, the Times reported. The court document states that Martinez "did not sustain the applicable burden of proof" for the protective order he sought.

Kaufman had granted the temporary order earlier this month after Martinez accused Berry of physically abusing their son. Those are allegations, and the court has now declined to issue the longer-term order he requested.

"We are extremely pleased that the Court has dissolved the [temporary restraining order]," Berry's attorney, Marina Beck, said in a statement to the Times. "As we move forward, Halle is determined to continue to focus on the well-being and best interests of her family."

Martinez's side also claimed a win. His attorney, Patrick Baghdaserians, told the Times his client was "very happy" that the judge kept Berry's limited visitation, and said the decision was "really focused on the best interests of the minor child."

Under the order, Berry's visitation remains limited to Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and every other weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to the Times. Kaufman had barred the boy from staying overnight with Berry when she granted the temporary order. The judge wrote that "all other orders regarding custody and visitation remain in full force and effect including holidays and vacation," and that previous legal custody orders also remain in effect.

Berry and her son must attend 12 sessions of "safe haven joint therapy" within six months after a therapist is appointed, the order says. A hearing to appoint that therapist is scheduled for Nov. 4.

The case began Oct. 1, when Martinez filed for a domestic violence restraining order. His request centered on an alleged Sept. 26 incident. Martinez alleged in court papers that Berry "physically abused our son ... by jumping on him, putting her hands around his neck, and choking him," according to the Times. His filing included a declaration about Berry's alleged history of abuse and screenshots of a text exchange after the alleged incident in which Berry appears to have written, "I feel terrible about what happened last night."

Berry's legal team rejected the allegations from the start. "To say this filing is entirely meritless and deliberately misleading would be an understatement," her attorneys said in a statement at the time. They also accused Martinez of "a well-documented history of erratic, possessive and violent behavior," which is their characterization and has not been decided by a court.

In his request, Martinez had asked the court to bar Berry from contacting or coming within 300 feet of him and their son, to order her not to drink during parenting time and to undergo sobriety testing "before, during and after visitation," to award him sole legal and physical custody, and to end her visitation entirely. He also asked that Berry pay his legal fees. The judge's Thursday order denied the protective order but did not restore Berry's prior schedule.

Berry and Martinez were married from 2013 to 2015. When they settled their divorce in August 2023, they agreed to joint physical and legal custody, the Times reported.

Several people close to Berry filed declarations supporting her, including her fiancé, Van Hunt, who attended the hearings with her. Her 18-year-old daughter, Nahla Aubry, said publicly that she had "never witnessed her act violently toward anyone." The couple's son also testified, over Berry's objections, according to the Times.

The hearings were closed, and the full findings behind the judge's ruling have not been made public. Boston Uncut is not naming the minor child. The Times based its account of Thursday's ruling on a minute order, the short written summary a court issues after a hearing, rather than on a full written opinion.

What remains unresolved: who will be appointed as the family therapist on Nov. 4, and whether either side will seek further changes to custody or visitation.