What is the legal definition of cohabitate?
• In Andrea N. Keene v. Ashley J. Bonser, Case No. 20030841-CA; F I L E D (January 27, 2005) Utah: Courts often refer to the dictionary to define statutory terms. We follow this approach today and adopt common, non-technical, dictionary-definition meanings of the words used to define “cohabitant” under the Act. Although the district court was correct in concluding that “resides or had resided in the same residence” under the definition of “cohabitant” has a broader meaning in Utah’s Cohabitant Abuse Act than in other contexts, it is not as open-ended as the court apparently envisioned. We have therefore clarified what it means to “reside” in the same “residence” for purposes of the definition under the Act. The inquiry into whether a person is a “cohabitant” under the Act is a fact-sensitive determination that requires a court to make detailed findings of fact, on a case-by-case basis, in reaching its conclusion. Because the district court failed to make findings of fact in support of
