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Leonard v. England6/7/1994
GREENE, Judge.
Earlene Leonard (plaintiff) appeals from an order filed 27 May 1993 in Mecklenburg County Superior Court, granting summary judgment based upon the statute of limitations for Vaughn England, Guardian for Michael Daniel, in plaintiff's action for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
On 15 February 1991, plaintiff filed a complaint against her grandmother, Michael Daniel (Daniel), alleging that "while the plaintiff was a child, and specifically while the plaintiff was between the approximate ages of 9 to 11, [Daniel] abused the plaintiff sexually, physically and emotionally." Plaintiff, who was 39 years of age at the time of filing suit, alleged that this abuse that occurred approximately 28 years ago constituted a battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, entitling her to compensatory and punitive damages. On 28 May 1991, the court granted Daniel's motion to substitute Vaughn England (defendant), guardian for Daniel, as defendant due to Daniel's incompetency. Also on 28 May 1991, defendant filed an answer, denying plaintiff's allegations and moving to dismiss her complaint for insufficiency of service of process and because it is barred by the statutes of limitations for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
On 25 May 1993, John Humphrey, M.D. (Dr. Humphrey), filed an affidavit which states in pertinent part:
2. . . . [on 30 March 1990], [plaintiff] related a history of having been troubled by "pictures of abuse." She thought she was hallucinating and was "losing her mind", but was beginning to wonder if the "pictures" could possibly be of real events.
3. . . . these events were interfering with [plaintiff]'s ability to function in everyday life . . . .
4. On April 25, 1990, with [plaintiff]'s consent, I performed a sodium amytal interview. Sodium amytal is a drug (popularly referred to as "truth serum") used for therapeutic interviews and is recognized as an effective treatment for disorders involving repression.
5. Following this session, it became clear to [plaintiff] that the experiences she was reliving were in fact real, and not hallucinations.
6. [Plaintiff] had uncovered sexual abuse as a child, committed by her uncle and grandmother. These relatives had also threatened her with physical, emotional and "religious" harm if she revealed their acts. I diagnosed her as suffering from major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
7. It is a fairly typical defense mechanism for an abused person to repress memories of abuse so deeply that, even as an adult, suggestions of abuse would be denied by the victim. At some point, abused individuals typically begin to be troubled by flashbacks, which, as in plaintiff's case, became more and more troublesome to the point that treatment was sought.
8. The fact that these flashbacks began to bring to the conscious mind the events of abuse, does not mean there was no mental illness through the interim period. Far from it. In fact, the timing of the flashbacks is entirely consistent with the diagnoses listed above and fit the pattern of post-traumatic stress syndrome. That pattern is a contributing fact in my diagnosis.
9. Based upon my examination and treatment of [plaintiff], it is my professional opinion to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that [plaintiff], until her sodium amytal session of April 25, 1990, lacked sufficient capacity to make or communicate important decisions regarding her legal rights, her person and property, including, specifically, the decision to file suit for damages for childhood abuse, because she lacked awareness o
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