The restraining order from Katharine Ross against her daughter has been thrown out by a judge after both parties were not present at court for a scheduled second hearing. In March, 2011, Ross requested legal protection from her daughter Cleo, after an attack at their Malibu family home in California. Cleo is Ross' only child with her husband, actor Sam Elliot.

Ross claimed that her daughter Cleo, who is 26-years-old, has been violent ever since her early teens, and this culminated in a death threat and an attack recently. Said attack was explained in legal papers filed at Los Angeles County Court, which stated that Cleo stabbed Ross with a pair of scissors during a 911 phone call.

In a previous hearing, a judge granted Ross a temporary restraining order, which called for Cleo to leave the family home and then proceed to stay at least 100 yards (91 metres) from her mother. In this second hearing, both Ross and her daughter were ordered to return to court on 30th March, 2011, in order to determine the extension of the restraining order. As neither showed up for the hearing, the judge has decided to throw the case out.