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Doe Parents No. 1 v. State11/27/2002
tiffs introduced transcripts of the testimony that the girls gave in connection with the criminal prosecution of Norton into evidence, and neither girl testified at the civil trial in this matter. All four parents testified, however, as did Beverly James, an expert in clinical social work, specializing in childhood trauma. The plaintiffs did not contend that either Melony or Nicole had been physically injured by Norton's molestation of them, at least not in the sense that either required medical care. Rather, the plaintiffs asserted that their injuries were psychological in nature. James testified that the plaintiffs' psychological disorders were permanent and would require extensive treatment, which she quantified. The plaintiffs did not, however, make any effort to isolate the precise sources of their sundry psychological disorders and traumas; for example, James testified that, in assessing each plaintiff's psychological injuries and damages, she considered the "totality" of the circumstances, including Norton's molestation of the girls, the school and criminal investigations, and the effect of testifying in the criminal proceedings. It is significant that, on appeal, the DOE does not contest the nature or extent of the plaintiffs' injuries.
Because of a contemporaneous voluntary bankruptcy proceeding involving Norton, the circuit court dismissed all of the plaintiffs' claims against him. With regard to the plaintiffs' claims against the DOE, the circuit court determined that the DOE was not liable to the plaintiffs under the doctrine of respondeat superior for Norton's molestation of Melony and Nicole (molestation of students not being within the scope of his employment), but that the DOE was liable to the plaintiffs on their negligence and NIED claims. The circuit court further ruled that the STLA, HRS ch. 662, did not insulate the DOE from liability for its negligence and NIED. We discuss the circuit court's analysis in relevant part infra in section III.
The circuit court determined that the plaintiffs' total damages were as follows: for Nicole, general damages of $400,000 and special damages of $50,000 and for each of her parents, general damages of $200,000 and special damages of $15,000; similarly, for Melony, general damages of $400,000 and special damages of $50,000 and for each of her parents, general damages of $200,000 and special damages of $13,750. Because Norton's conduct, however, was also a substantial factor in causing the plaintiffs' injuries, the circuit court determined that the DOE's "degree of fault" in causing the plaintiffs' injuries was forty-nine percent. Accordingly, the circuit court entered judgment, with regard to the plaintiffs' negligence and NIED claims in favor of the plaintiffs and against the DOE, in an amount representing forty-nine percent of their total damages; but with regard to the respondent superior claim, the circuit court entered judgment in favor of the DOE and against the plaintiffs.
II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW
A. Statutory Interpretation
"The interpretation of a statute . . . is a question of law reviewable denovo." In re Jane Doe, Born on June 20, 1995, 95 Hawaii 183, 190, 20 P.3d 616, 623 (2001) (citations, quotation signals, and brackets omitted) (ellipsis points in original). In construing a statute, "our foremost obligation is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the legislature, which is to be obtained primarily from the language contained in the statute itself." Id. at 191, 20 P.3d at 624 (citations omitted). Moreover, "we must read statutory language in the context of the entire statute and construe it in a manner consistent with [the statute's] purpose." Id. (citations omitted). We "may a
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