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Perrotti v. Gonicberg7/7/2005
y baby boy was delivered eighty-eight days later. She acknowledged that she did not seek counseling or any other psychiatric service for her anxiety. The "black cloud" vanished once the baby was born and was fine, she said. On cross-examination, she admitted that neither her physical injuries nor the "black cloud" kept her out of work as a travel agent. She also stated that the rest of her pregnancy was normal. With regard to anxiety or stress, Mrs. Perrotti said she did not complain to her doctor, nor did she receive any treatment or medication. Except for one follow-up visit after the car accident, Mrs. Perrotti did not have any additional visits with her obstetrician.
Paul Perrotti testified that he would often talk to his wife about "you know, potential injuries that could have arisen from the accident, but the overall well-being of the child, and, you know, just basically comforting her and just supporting her in hopes of a healthy child."
A. Defendant's Motion in Limine
Before the jury was impaneled, the trial justice heard arguments with respect to defendant's motion in limine in which he sought to preclude plaintiffs from testifying about any injuries to their minor child Ashley, and about wages lost because of the accident. The defendant asserted that because Ashley's claim for damages was separate and not yet in litigation, any claim by plaintiffs for mental anguish or lost wages in relation to their daughter would be derivative to Ashley's claim and not compensable in this lawsuit. The defendant also asked that Jamie Perrotti be precluded from testifying about any psychological injuries, since there was no medical evidence to support such a claim.
The plaintiffs stipulated that any claim for lost wages was derivative from Ashley's claim, but argued that Ashley's injury was relevant to Mrs. Perrotti's state of mind on the date of the accident and "one of the factors that caused psychic damages to flow" from her injury. In addition, they opposed defendant's attempt to exclude evidence of her anxiety and concern about the welfare of her unborn child. They contended that Jamie Perrotti was entitled to damages for "whatever mental anguish or suffering" she experienced, given that she had suffered physical injuries in the accident. The defendant countered that there was no adequate medical or psychological evidence to support such a claim. When the hearing ended, the trial justice ruled that "the child in the back seat is not an issue," but deferred a decision on the mental-suffering claim to see "what plaintiff presents."
B. Judgment as a Matter of Law
The trial justice did, indeed, revisit the issue at the close of the evidence. She advised counsel, outside the presence of the jury, that the court would exercise its authority under Rule 50(a)(3) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, and involuntarily dismiss Mrs. Perrotti's claim for "psychic damages, mental anguish and/or emotional injury." She found that plaintiff had failed to "establish a prima facie case with respect to emotional damage," and that she had "failed to introduce the appropriate physical symptomatology evidence to buttress her emotional distress claim." In fact, the trial justice noted, plaintiffs "did not introduce any evidence of relevant physical symptoms that would warrant emotional damage other than the 'black cloud' that hovered over her * * *." Accordingly, the trial justice found that there were "no factual issues upon which reasonable minds might draw different conclusions," and that " laintiff's apprehension regarding the health of her then unborn fetus was not reasonable in light of the evidence presented." The trial justice, therefore, granted ju
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