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Sorrells v. M.Y.B. Hospitality Ventures of Asheville10/8/1993
MITCHELL, Justice.
The issue before us in this case is whether it was reasonably foreseeable that the plaintiffs would suffer severe emotional distress upon learning that their son had been killed in a one-car accident after he was negligently served alcohol at the defendant's place of business. We hold that it was not reasonably foreseeable; therefore, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals.
As this case was dismissed prior to trial pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6), we must treat the allegations of the complaint
as true. See Johnson v. Ruark Obstetrics and Gynecology Assocs., P.A., 327 N.C. 283, 286, 395 S.E.2d 85, 87 (1990); Ragsdale v. Kennedy, 286 N.C. 130, 137, 209 S.E.2d 494, 499 (1974). The plaintiffs' complaint alleges that they were the parents of Travis Cain Sorrells (hereinafter "Travis"), a 21-year-old community college student. On or about the evening of 21 May 1990, Travis was drinking alcohol with friends at Rhapsody's Food and Spirits, the defendant's place of business. Other members of Travis' party asked their waitress not to serve Travis any more drinks because he "had had enough to drink" and would be driving himself home. Nevertheless, other Rhapsody's employees continued to serve Travis alcohol knowing he was highly intoxicated. As Travis was driving home from Rhapsody's he lost control of his car, struck a bridge abutment and was killed.
The complaint further alleges that when the plaintiffs learned that their son had been killed in a car accident and "his body mutilated," the information "had a devastating emotional effect" on them. As a result, they "suffered . . . sickness, helplessness frailty and . . . underwent much grief, worry, loss of enjoyment of life, a wrecked nervous system, depression and emotional grief."
The defendant moved to dismiss this action for negligent infliction of emotional distress on the ground that the complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. See N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) (1990). After a hearing, the trial court entered an order granting the defendant's motion and dismissing the action.
The Court of Appeals held that the question of foreseeability in the case at bar was one for the jury and the trial court had therefore erred in dismissing the plaintiffs' claim. Sorrells v. M.Y.B. Hospitality Ventures, 108 N.C. App. 668, 672, 424 S.E.2d 676, 679-80 (1993). Therefore, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's order.
This Court has recognized claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress for more than one hundred years. Johnson v. Ruark Obstetrics, 327 N.C. at 290, 395 S.E.2d at 89. See generally Robert G. Byrd, Recovery for Mental Anguish in North Carolina, 58 N.C. L. Rev. 435 (1980). In Johnson v. Ruark Obstetrics we briefly reviewed the various mechanical and arbitrary "tests" applied to claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress in other jurisdictions. Ruark, 327 N.C. at 288-90, 395 S.E.2d at 88-89. We
expressly refused, however, to adopt any of those mechanical tests and emphasized that claims for emotional distress filed in our courts "must, of course, be decided under North Carolina law." Id. at 290, 395 S.E.2d at 89. We surveyed the decisions of this Court applying North Carolina law and expressly held that "our law includes no arbitrary requirements to be applied mechanically to claims for neglig
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