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Hartman v. Smith6/29/2005
DECISION AND JOURNAL ENTRY
This cause was heard upon the record in the trial court. Each error assigned has been reviewed and the following disposition is made:
{ } Appellants, Garry Hartman, as executor of the estate of Janice Hartman-Smith, and Betty Lippincott, appeal from the order of the Wayne County Court of Common Pleas, which granted appellee's, Grace Malz', motion for summary judgment, thereby dismissing all claims against appellee. This Court affirms.
I.
{ } On or about June 30, 1970, John Smith married Janice Hartman. Some time in 1974, Janice disappeared. On or about October 3, 2000, John Smith was arrested and charged with the murder of Janice Hartman-Smith. John Smith was subsequently convicted of Janice's murder and sentenced accordingly.
{ } On July 14, 2003, appellants filed a complaint against John Smith, alleging wrongful death, loss of consortium, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and civil conspiracy. In the complaint, appellants alleged that appellee was liable for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy. The premise of appellants' complaint against appellee was that she knew the whereabouts of Janice's body and withheld that information, causing severe emotional harm and other injuries to appellants. In addition, appellants alleged that they were entitled to punitive damages as a result of appellee's willful, wanton and malicious conduct in conscious disregard of appellants' rights and well-being. The underlying facts are as follows.
{ } John Smith's brother Michael Smith testified during deposition that he saw John building a box in their grandfather's garage soon after Janice's disappearance in 1974. John told him that he needed some place to store some of Janice's clothing. In 1979, the grandfather found the box and called Michael. Michael opened the box and found the dismembered remains of Janice Hartman-Smith. John was notified and he came and took the box with Janice's remains to Indiana. Michael testified that John told him that he was going to either burn the box or seal it within the basement walls of a house, presumably in Indiana. The box containing Janice's remains was ultimately found in neither of those places; rather, the box and remains were found in a field in Indiana.
{ } Michael admitted to repeating various versions of the story of Janice's death and the whereabouts of her dismembered body over the next twenty years. He further testified that he drank heavily and that he never told anyone the truth about his discovery until 1999. Michael testified that he once told his mother, appellee, an untrue version of the story after he spent the night drinking, but that appellee did not believe him and accused him of drinking too much and being jealous of his brother John. In the end, Michael testified that only he and his grandfather knew the true story about Janice's death and whereabouts from 1979 until 1999.
{ } Stephen Malz, appellee's youngest son, testified at deposition that, when Stephen was eight or nine years old, his half-brother Michael Smith told him a story about Janice's body having been found in a box. Stephen testified that appellee was in the room during the story, that he believed appellee heard the story, but that he did not know whether appellee listened to or processed what Michael was saying. Ultimately, Stephen testified that he had no independent knowledge that appellee knew the whereabouts of Janice's body.
{ } Tawnya Smith, Michael's wife, testified at deposition that Michael made some vague reference to Janice's death and the whereabouts of her body. Tawnya testified t
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