Courtney v. Courtney

413 S.E.2d 418, 186 W. Va. 597, 1991 W. Va. LEXIS 261
CourtWest Virginia Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 19, 1991
Docket20122
StatusPublished
Cited by101 cases

This text of 413 S.E.2d 418 (Courtney v. Courtney) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering West Virginia Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Courtney v. Courtney, 413 S.E.2d 418, 186 W. Va. 597, 1991 W. Va. LEXIS 261 (W. Va. 1991).

Opinion

MILLER, Chief Justice:

This appeal is by the plaintiffs, Frances Courtney, individually, and her infant son, Patsy Jo Compaleo, who sues by and through his mother. A final order of the Circuit Court of Taylor County dismissed two counts of their complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. We find this ruling to be erroneous.

I.

Frances Courtney and Denzil Courtney were husband and wife. During their marriage, Denzil allegedly physically abused Frances and her son, Patsy Jo. After the Courtneys were divorced, Frances and Patsy Jo sued Denzil and Maud Courtney, Denzil’s mother, for damages they sustained from these attacks. The complaint asserts four counts: (I) that Denzil intentionally assaulted and battered Frances; (II) that Maud was liable for Denzil’s tort because she, while aware that Denzil was a manic depressive and an alcoholic, nonetheless supplied him with alcohol and drugs, which she knew would cause him to become abusive; (III) that Denzil intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon Patsy *600 Jo when he assaulted Frances in Patsy Jo’s presence; and (IV) that Denzil intentionally assaulted and battered Patsy Jo. Both defendants filed motions to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure. 1 In an order dated December 20, 1990, the trial court dismissed Counts II and III.

II.

In Syllabus Point 3 of Chapman v. Kane Transfer Co., 160 W.Va. 530, 236 S.E.2d 207 (1977), we articulated the standard trial courts should employ in determining whether to grant a motion to dismiss:

“The trial court, in appraising the sufficiency of a complaint on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, should not dismiss the complaint unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99 [102], 2 L.Ed.2d 80 [84] (1957).”

See also Dunn v. Consolidation Coal Co., 180 W.Va. 681, 379 S.E.2d 485 (1989); Price v. Halstead, 177 W.Va. 592, 355 S.E.2d 380 (1987); Whitehair v. Highland Memory Gardens, Inc., 174 W.Va. 458, 327 S.E.2d 438 (1985); Sticklen v. Kittle, 168 W.Va. 147, 287 S.E.2d 148 (1981). With this standard in mind, we address the merits of each claim dismissed.

III.

We have not had occasion to decide whether a child can recover damages for severe emotional distress in the absence of a physical injury because the child witnessed a third person verbally abusing and physically assaulting his mother.

We addressed a similar issue in Lambert v. Brewster, 97 W.Va. 124, 125 S.E. 244 (1924), where the plaintiff suffered a miscarriage after she saw her father assaulted by the defendant. The critical difference between Lambert and this case is that in Lambert, the plaintiff suffered a physical injury as a result of defendant’s conduct. In Syllabus Point 3 of Lambert, we held:

“Where defendant wrongfully and violently assaulted and beat plaintiff’s father, in plaintiff’s sight and hearing, thereby causing her to be greatly frightened, and as a consequence thereof she suffered a miscarriage, defendant is liable to the plaintiff for all damages which can be directly traced to his wrongful conduct, even though he was not aware of her presence or her delicate condition.”

Lambert was our first case to recognize a tort for physical injury “even though there was no physical impact between the body of the person injured and the wrongdoer, or any object set in motion by him.” Syllabus Point 2, in part, Lambert v. Brewster, supra.

In Harless v. First National Bank, 169 W.Va. 673, 289 S.E.2d 692 (1982), we recognized that damages could be recovered for the intentional infliction of emotional distress even though the plaintiff suffered no physical injury. This cause of action is often termed the “tort of outrageous conduct” and has been recognized by a number of jurisdictions. 2 In Syllabus Point 6 of Harless, we adopted Section 46(1) of the Restatement (Second) of Torts (1965):

“One who by extreme and outrageous conduct intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress to another is subject to liability for such emotional distress, and if bodily harm to the other results from it, for such bodily harm.” 3

*601 In Harless, a bank employee had been fired for attempting to have the bank comply with state and federal consumer credit and protection laws. He filed suit for retaliatory discharge and for intentional infliction of emotional distress. We concluded in Harless that because emotional distress damages could be recovered in a retaliatory discharge cause of action, duplicate damages would be obtained if a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress were permitted on the same set of facts. We nonetheless outlined the contours of a cause of action for the intentional infliction of emotional distress by quoting from Womack v. Eldridge, 215 Va. 338, 342, 210 S.E.2d 145, 148 (1974):

“ ‘[A] cause of action will lie for emotional distress, unaccompanied by physical injury, provided four elements are shown: One, the wrongdoer’s conduct was intentional or reckless. This element is satisfied where the wrongdoer had the specific purpose of inflicting emotional distress or where he intended his specific conduct and knew or should have known that emotional distress would likely result. Two, the conduct was outrageous and intolerable in that it offends against the generally accepted standards of decency and morality. This requirement is aimed at limiting frivolous suits and avoiding litigation in situations where only bad manners and mere hurt feelings are involved. Three, there was a causal connection between the wrongdoer’s conduct and the emotional distress. Pour, the emotional distress was severe.’ ” 169 W.Va. at 694-95, 289 S.E.2d at 704. (Citations omitted).

Again, there is a factual difference between Harless and the present case. In Harless, the plaintiff who claimed the emotional distress was the person directly subjected to the defendant’s tortious conduct. However, both Section 46(2) of the Restatement

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Bluebook (online)
413 S.E.2d 418, 186 W. Va. 597, 1991 W. Va. LEXIS 261, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/courtney-v-courtney-wva-1991.