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Ryan v. Brown5/11/2005
lative bystander under Groves. Thus, Bader suggests that Kevin's negligent infliction of emotional distress claim should survive Dr. Brown and DCMH's motions for summary judgment.
Our conclusion that Kevin's claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress should survive summary judgment is further supported by our decisions in Blackwell and Delta Airlines v. Cook, 816 N.E.2d 448 (Ind. Ct. App. 2004), trans. pending. In Blackwell, the Blackwells' son died in 1987, and the Blackwells had his body cremated. The Blackwells then requested that their son's remains be entombed in a glass niche at Graceland Cemetery. In 1999, the Blackwells learned that their son's remains had not been entombed at Graceland Cemetery and they filed a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress. The cemetery filed a motion for summary judgment on the Blackwells' negligent infliction of emotional distress claims, which the trial court granted.
On appeal, we noted that the Blackwells sought emotional damages under Groves as relative bystanders. We pointed out that although Groves' "bystander" rule may be inapposite, the supreme court's reasoning in Groves was still persuasive and compelling. Blackwell, 771 N.E.2d at 697. We stated that "while there was no physical impact, the Blackwells have alleged serious emotional trauma and it is of a kind that a reasonable person would experience." Id. We went on to explain that
n our view, this is the type of claim that our supreme court spoke of in Groves where the plaintiff is sufficiently and directly involved in the incident giving rise to the emotional trauma. The rationale underlying the impact rule that prevents concocted claims of mental anguish is not implicated here. We are satisfied that the evidence designated to the trial court in this case is such that the alleged mental anguish suffered by the Blackwells is not likely speculative, exaggerated, fictitious, or unforeseeable.
Id. (citation omitted). We determined that provided that the Blackwells could prevail on their negligence claim, there was no reason why they should not be allowed to claim damages for emotional distress. Id. Therefore, we concluded that the trial court erred in granting the cemetery's motion for summary judgment, and that the Blackwells' claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress should be permitted to proceed. Id.
In Cook, the Cooks were aboard a Delta Airlines flight from Indianapolis to New York City several months after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center. A passenger aboard the flight, Frederic Girard, a French national, was behaving erratically. On one occasion, Bryan Cook and two other male passengers had to block Girard's attempts to move towards the front of the plane. The flight eventually made an emergency landing in Cleveland, where Girard was arrested. The Cooks brought a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress against Delta. Delta filed a motion for summary judgment with regard to the Cooks' negligent infliction of emotional distress claims, but the trial court denied that motion.
On appeal, we affirmed the trial court. Cook, 816 N.E.2d at 460. We noted that the Cooks were directly involved in the incident involving Girard's erratic behavior aboard the flight to New York City. Id. We determined that we could not say as a matter of law that the Cooks' claimed emotional injuries were not serious in nature and of a kind and extent normally expected to occur in a reasonable person under similar circumstances. Id. We concluded that the Cooks were entitled to present their emotional damages claims to a trier of fact, and that the trial court properly denied Delta's motion for summ
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