Chilton v. Homestead, L.C.

79 Va. Cir. 708
CourtBath County Circuit Court
DecidedSeptember 8, 2008
DocketCase No. CL07-41
StatusPublished

This text of 79 Va. Cir. 708 (Chilton v. Homestead, L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Bath County Circuit Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chilton v. Homestead, L.C., 79 Va. Cir. 708 (Va. Super. Ct. 2008).

Opinion

By Judge Humes J. Franklin, Jr.

There are three primary issues set forth in this case on Demurrer, first, whether the court should sustain Defendant’s The Homestead, L.C., Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ Timothy W. Chilton and Lynn H. Daniel intentional infliction of emotional distress claim because, as Defendant argues, the Plaintiffs have not satisfactorily shown that all of the elements of this cause of action have been met; second, whether the court should sustain Defendant’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ personal injury claim because, as Defendant avers, the Plaintiffs have failed to allege facts showing that Defendant knew or should have reasonably foreseen the risk of personal injury to Plaintiffs due to a third party’s criminal negligence and, therefore, had a duty to warn or protect Plaintiffs therefrom; or, alternatively, whether the court should dismiss Plaintiffs’ personal injury claim due to Plaintiffs’ contributory negligence or voluntary assumption of the risk; additionally, in connection with said personal injury claim, whether the court should sustain Defendant’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ prayer for punitive damages for the commission of an independent, willful tort by the Defendant; third, whether the Plaintiffs have [709]*709alleged sufficient facts to establish a claim for breach of contract and, in correlation, whether the court should sustain Defendant’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ prayer for punitive damages for breach of said contract.

Moreover, the court must consider whether the Defendant’s Motion Craving Oyer should be overruled because, as the Plaintiffs aver, the contract at issue was an oral contract or, alternatively, is in the possession of the Defendant.

As regards the issues on Demurrer, for the reasons set forth infra, the court finds Defendant’s arguments most persuasive and, therefore, sustains Defendant’s Demurrer to Plaintiffs’ claims as articulated above. Accordingly, the court dismisses Plaintiffs’ claims with prejudice.

Furthermore, the court holds that, as no contract existed between the Defendant and Plaintiffs, Defendant’s Motion Craving Oyer must necessarily be denied.

The court shall address each of the parties’ claims in turn.

I. Plaintiffs Fail To Allege Facts Sufficient To Support a Claim for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

In Harris v. Kreutzer, the Virginia Supreme Court held that, in order for an action for intentional infliction of emotional distress to survive on demurrer, the plaintiff is required to allege all of the facts necessary to support the cause of action. 271 Va. 188,203 (2006). Indeed, it is insufficient for the plaintiff in such a case to merely state conclusory allegations, and proper factual support must be provided for each element of the cause of action. Ogunde v. Prison Health Services, Inc., 274 Va. 55, 66 (2007). In particular, the Court has provided the four elements a plaintiff must prove to successfully establish a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress: (1) that the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly; (2) the defendant’s conduct was outrageous and intolerable; (3) there is a causal nexus between the defendant’s conduct and the emotional distress suffered by the plaintiff; and (4) severe emotional distress was suffered by the plaintiff. Harris, 271 Va. at 203; Womack v. Eldridge, 215 Va. 338, 342 (1974).

The court overrules Plaintiffs’ objection to Defendant’s Memorandum of Law under Rule 4:15 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Plaintiffs’ Responsive Memorandum of Law at 1, n. 1. Pursuant to this Rule, absent leave of court, briefs in support of a motion that are five pages or fewer in length must be filed and served, along with requisite notice, at least 14 days before the hearing. As Defendant’s Memorandum of Law is clearly in excess of five pages in length, Plaintiffs’ objection is moot.

[710]*710The court recognizes Plaintiffs’ objection to the Defendant’s Memorandum of Law based on the attachment of exhibits to said Memorandum not part of the record in this case. Defendant’s Exhibit I, Plaintiffs’ Responsive Memorandum of Law at 2, n. 2. As the Plaintiffs have noted, there is authority in support of dismissal for the filing of such “speaking demurrers.” See Landes v. Erie, 48 Va. Cir. 298 (1999); Smith v. General Motors Corp., 35 Va. Cir. 112, 113 (1994). Nevertheless, the court follows the course of action taken in Laguna v. Wallace and does not dismiss Defendant’s Demurrer, but will not consider the aforesaid exhibits. 67 Va. Cir. 535, 537 (2004).

By their Memorandum of Law in Support of Its Demurrer (“Defendant’s Memorandum of Law”) the Defendant first argues that the “conduct alleged by the Plaintiffs simply does not rise to the required level of outrageousness” mandated by the second prong of the test elucidated supra. Defendant Memo, at 3. Here, the Defendant notes that the standard for “outrageous and intolerable” conduct, as outlined in Russo v. White, is met where the conduct of the defendant is “so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.” 271 Va. 23, 27 (1991). Indeed, the weight of persuasive authority presented by the Defendant is recognizably in favor of stringently construing this element of intentional infliction of emotional distress. See generally Douglas v. Dabney S. Lancaster Community College, 900 F. Supp. 447, 465-66 (W.D. Va. 1997) (plaintiffs claim dismissed despite sufficient evidence that plaintiff was sexually harassed); Dwyer v. Smith, 867 F.2d 184, 194-95 (4th Cir. 1989) (sexual comments, accusations of sexual relations with employees, and delivery of pornography to plaintiff insufficient to prove outrageous conduct by the defendant). Based upon this and other persuasive precedent, the Defendant argues that the act of Defendant’s employee giving a key to Ms. Chilton and Mr. Daniel in the middle of the night without first obtaining sufficient identification or requesting the Plaintiffs’ permission or at least providing Plaintiffs with sufficient warning, is fundamentally inadequate to reach the level of harm necessary to fulfill this component of the cause of action at issue. Am. Corp., ¶ 31. Defendant Memo, at 3.

Secondly, the Defendant’s Memorandum of Law similarly contends that the factual allegations set forth do not provide information strong enough to prove that the Plaintiffs have suffered the severe emotional distress required by the fourth prong of the test set forth in Harris and Womack, supra. Defendant Memo, at 4. The Defendant again relies upon Russo, wherein the Court held that, with regard to the severe emotional distress suffered by the [711]*711plaintiff, “liability arises only when the emotional distress is extreme, and only where the distress inflicted is so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it.” 241 Va. at 27. An objective physical injury, confinement to one’s home or a hospital, and lost wages due to alleged distress are, according to the Defendant, acceptable indicators of severe emotional distress as recognized by the Court. Id. at 28. By comparison, nervousness, insomnia, stress and stress-related physical symptoms, and social and professional withdrawal are argued to be insufficient indicators of severe emotional distress. Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ogunde v. Prison Health Services, Inc.
645 S.E.2d 520 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2007)
Hamlet v. Hayes
641 S.E.2d 115 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2007)
Almy v. Grisham
639 S.E.2d 182 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2007)
Harris v. Kreutzer
624 S.E.2d 24 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2006)
Woods v. Mendez
574 S.E.2d 263 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2003)
Thurmond v. Prince William Professional Baseball Club, Inc.
574 S.E.2d 246 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2003)
Welding, Inc. v. Bland County Service Authority
541 S.E.2d 909 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2001)
Yuzefovsky v. St. John's Wood Apartments
540 S.E.2d 134 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 2001)
Armstrong v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
209 S.E.2d 903 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1974)
Waters v. Safeway Stores, Inc.
435 S.E.2d 380 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1993)
Wells v. Weston
326 S.E.2d 672 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1985)
Puent v. Dickens
427 S.E.2d 340 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1993)
Wright v. Norfolk & Western Railway Co.
427 S.E.2d 724 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1993)
Richardson v. Richardson
392 S.E.2d 688 (Court of Appeals of Virginia, 1990)
Kamlar Corp. v. Haley
299 S.E.2d 514 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1983)
Womack v. Eldridge
210 S.E.2d 145 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1974)
Caudill v. Wise Rambler, Inc.
168 S.E.2d 257 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1969)
Gulf Reston, Inc. v. Rogers
207 S.E.2d 841 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1974)
Padeh v. Zagoria
900 F. Supp. 442 (S.D. Florida, 1995)
Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. Swartz
80 S.E. 568 (Supreme Court of Virginia, 1913)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
79 Va. Cir. 708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chilton-v-homestead-lc-vaccbath-2008.