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Renville v. Fredrickson11/16/2004
law. Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P. Our standard in reviewing a district court's summary judgment ruling is de novo. Watkins Trust v. Lacosta, 2004 MT 144, 16, 321 Mont. 432, 16, 92 P.3d 620, 16 (citation omitted). Accordingly, such review affords no deference to the district court's decision and we independently review the record, using the same criteria used by the district court, i.e ., Rule 56, M.R.Civ.P., to determine whether summary judgment is appropriate. Moreover, all reasonable inferences which may be drawn from the offered proof must be drawn in favor of the party opposing summary judgment. Watkins Trust, 16.
DISCUSSION
Renville argued to the District Court that she suffered extreme emotional distress as a result of her son's death which she alleged was caused by Frederickson's negligence. The Estate countered Renville's allegations with a two-fold argument: 1) because Renville did not contemporaneously witness the underlying accident that killed her son or its immediate aftermath, under Montana law she may not prosecute an independent claim for NIED; and 2) Renville's emotional distress from the loss of her son was not "so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it."( quoting Sacco v. High Country Independent Press (1995), 271 Mont. 209, 234, 896 P.2d 411, 426). The District Court did not address Frederickson's "contemporaneous witness" argument. Rather, it held that, under Sacco , her emotional distress was insufficiently severe to support her NIED claim.
The State of Montana has long recognized "negligent infliction of emotional distress" as a compensable tort and an independent cause of action. In Sacco , we engaged in a comprehensive analysis of the historical development of emotional distress claims; therefore, we need not do so again here. As the District Court recognized, we set forth in Sacco a threshold level of emotional distress that must be met for such claims to be compensable. We said:
Emotional distress passes under various names, such as mental suffering, mental anguish, mental or nervous shock, or the like. It includes all highly unpleasant mental reactions, such as fright, horror, grief, shame, humiliation, embarrassment, anger, chagrin, disappointment, worry, and nausea. It is only where it is extreme that the liability arises. Complete emotional tranquillity is seldom attainable in this world, and some degree of transient and trivial emotional distress is a part of the price of living among people. The law intervenes only where the distress inflicted is so severe that no reasonable [person] could be expected to endure it. The intensity and the duration of the distress are factors to be considered in determining its severity. Severe distress must be proved. . . . (emphasis added).
Sacco , 271 Mont. at 234, 896 P.2d at 426.
We acknowledge that "severe" and "serious" emotional distress may manifest in various and subtle ways. In Henricksen v. State , we reiterated that the guidance provided in the Restatement 2nd of Torts , § 46, comment k, was one commonly-used method for identifying sufficiently severe and serious emotional distress:
In cases where there is a physical manifestation of bodily harm resulting from emotional distress, such as PTSD, this bodily harm is sufficient evidence that the emotional distress suffered by the plaintiff is genuine and severe. As explained in the Restatement 2nd of Torts , § 46, comment k, ' ormally, severe emotional distress is accompanied or followed by shock, illness, or other bodily harm, which in itself affords evidence that the distress is genuine and severe.' (Emphasis inoriginal.) This manifestation assures that only genuine harm
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