Bellefeuil v. Wilson
| Docket Number | 361494 |
| Decision Date | 24 August 2023 |
| Parties | JAMES R. BELLEFEUIL, Plaintiff-Appellant/Cross-Appellee, v. JULIE M. WILSON, Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
UNPUBLISHED
Kent Circuit Court LC No. 20-002707-NZ
Before: GLEICHER, C.J., and RICK and MALDONADO, JJ.
In this action for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), plaintiff James Bellefeuil alleges that defendant Julie Wilson coached their daughter, LBW, to falsely accuse Bellefeuil of child sexual abuse. LBW's allegations launched lengthy child welfare and criminal investigations that abruptly ended 15 months later with LBW's recantation. Bellefeuil brought this suit and Wilson sought summary disposition contending that Bellefeuil's evidence of coaching was insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact. The circuit court agreed with Wilson. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Bellefeuil and Wilson married in 2009 and divorced in 2010, but continued living together. LBW was born in 2013. After the couple had twins in 2016, their relationship deteriorated. By April 2017, they contemplated a separation. Wilson retained counsel and sought child support of more than $40,000 per month based on Bellefeuil's multi-million-dollar annual income. At that time Wilson was unemployed and financially dependent on Bellefeuil. Bellefeuil, too, retained counsel.
Two months into the parties' dissolution negotiations Bellefeuil took four-year-old LBW to his parents' log cabin in the Upper Peninsula. Bellefeuil's mother stepfather and other family members were present throughout the visit. Wilson approved of the trip; indeed, Bellefeuil claims that she suggested it. In testimony later provided to a private arbitrator selected by the parties under the Domestic Relations Arbitration Act, MCL 600.5070, et seq.,[1] Bellefeuil described that everyone enjoyed the trip and that LBW spoke to Wilson by phone every evening. The arbitrator's report continues:
The next day, while being bathed by Wilson, LBW allegedly disclosed that Bellefeuil had committed multiple forms of sexual and physical abuse while the two vacationed in the Upper Peninsula. This "disclosure" is at the heart of Bellefeuil's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
Bellefeuil maintains that it was unusual for Wilson to bathe LBW, and that she did so after telling the evening nanny to go home. Wilson brought her smartphone into the bathroom and engaged in a conversation with LBW about "what your daddy did up north." At some point during that conversation, Wilson began videotaping with her phone. A transcript of the videotaped portion is in the record; we include it here in its entirety because in our view, some of Wilson's leading questions are consistent with coaching. We have italicized the most obvious and egregious examples:
After videotaping her conversation with LBW, Wilson inexplicably asked Bellefeuil to kiss LBW goodnight. The next day, Wilson took LBW to a medical examination where the doctors called Child Protective Services (CPS). CPS visited the home and requested that Bellefeuil leave. About a week later, Wilson filed for child support in the amount of $44,000 per month.
Bellefeuil remained out of the home for 15 months while two investigations, one brought by CPS and the other by the Kent County prosecutor, proceeded. During the investigations Wilson accused Bellefeuil of possessing child pornography; this accusation was rejected after the police searched Bellefeuil's devices. Bellefeuil steadfastly denied that he had abused his daughter and from the outset maintained that Wilson had coached LBW to make the accusations. He was never arrested.[2]
Meanwhile LBW underwent several interviews and examinations. No physical evidence of abuse was detected. At one of the forensic interviews LBW stated that Bellefeuil had hurt her "with a yellow hammer on [her] butt," and recapitulated that he had "pooped" and "peed" on her. The nannies interviewed by CPS strongly disagreed with the notion that Bellefeuil had abused LBW. They described a normal and healthy father-daughter relationship, and expressed their opinions that LBW was much more firmly bonded to her father than her mother. One described Bellefeuil as LBW's "primary caretaker." Indeed, when told of Bellefeuil's removal...
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