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Allison C. v. Advanced Education Services5/18/2005
This case involves a complaint by a mother for the wrongful death, by suicide, of her severely emotionally disturbed 13-year-old son. Plaintiff Allison C. appeals from an amended judgment entered in her favor and against defendant Advanced Education Services (AES) after a jury trial. She claims that the trial court erred in apportioning fault and therefore improperly calculated the amount of damages. She also appeals from the trial court's order granting AES's motion for a new trial. She asserts that neither ground cited by the trial court --prejudicial juror misconduct or excessive damages -- was supported by the evidence, and further, that even if they were, the trial court erred in failing to order a limited retrial as to damages only. AES also appeals from the amended judgment and, in addition, from the order denying its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. It claims that there was no substantial evidence to support the verdict that it was liable for Dylan's death or Allison's emotional distress. While AES's notice of appeal also purported to appeal from the trial court's ruling on its motion to tax costs, that point of alleged error was abandoned by the failure to raise it in the briefs. (Marocco v. Ford Motor Co. (1970) 7 Cal.App.3d 84, 87, fn. 1.) We reverse the order denying AES's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and consequently need not reach the merits of the order granting AES's motion for a new trial, nor need we consider the parties' appeals from the amended judgment.
Facts and Procedural History
Dylan was born in 1987 to Allison, and was her only child. Dylan began to have emotional problems in the third grade when he moved from Bakersfield to Crestline, California, after the breakup of Allison's marriage to his stepfather. As early as 1996 Dylan was hospitalized for a week at a local behavioral medicine center due to his out-of-control behavior. After a brief time out of state, Allison and Dylan moved to Redlands, California. Dylan attended school in Redlands for less than two months before being raped at knifepoint by a 14-year-old boy and subsequently moving to Bakersfield to live with his ex-stepfather for six months. Allison visited him at least monthly and spoke to him on the phone nightly. Upon his return, Dylan was enrolled in school in Loma Linda, near Allison's employment.
Very shortly thereafter, it was determined that Dylan required special education services for his emotional/behavioral condition, including his prior attempts at suicide and his reaction to the fact that he had been raped. At some time in 1998, Dylan was diagnosed as bipolar (manic depressive) by his psychiatrist, a condition that was aggravated by post traumatic stress disorder, from which he also suffered after the 1997 rape.
Dylan's first placement at a nonpublic school was from June 1, 1998, to January 15, 1999. Because Dylan's behaviors were out of control, he required a more supervised environment, and he was moved to a residential nonpublic school, where he attended from February 22, 1999, to August 17, 2000. While he was there Allison visited him twice per month and spoke to him nightly. Dylan made progress at the residential nonpublic school and Allison wanted him to come back home, so his individualized education program team decided that he would be released from that facility, despite some continued self-destructive and inappropriate behaviors.
Pursuant to a contract between AES and the East Valley Special Education Local Planning Agency, Dylan was placed at a nonpublic school owned by AES for 174 days of instruction plus round-trip transportation between home and school each day. Dylan actually began attending t
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