Grieco ex rel. Doe v. Napolitano
| Decision Date | 17 January 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 2000-299-Appeal.,2000-299-Appeal. |
| Citation | 813 A.2d 994 |
| Parties | Marilyn GRIECO, in her capacity as mother and next friend for her minor son, John DOE, alias v. Stephen T. NAPOLITANO, in his capacity as Treasurer of the City of Providence. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
Before WILLIAMS, C.J., LEDERBERG, FLANDERS, and GOLDBERG, JJ.
Richard W. Petrocelli, Providence, for Plaintiff.
Richard G. Riendeau, Providence, for Defendant.
This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument on October 31, 2002, on appeal by the defendant, Stephen T. Napolitano, in his capacity as Treasurer of the City of Providence (city or defendant), from judgments granting summary judgment and damages in favor of Marilyn Grieco (Grieco or plaintiff), on behalf of her minor son, who is designated as John Doe (John).
On the afternoon of February 14, 1994, Grieco's fourteen-year-old son, "John," was traveling home after school with two friends. While walking on Felix Street in the Smith Hill section of Providence, the youths were approached by more than twenty young Asian males, seemingly gang-affiliated, who, using threats and intimidation, intended to rob John and his friends. While attempting to flee, John fell to the ground, and was beaten by these frenzied youths, who were enraged by the boy's empty pockets. Battered and bruised, John made his way home where he found his friends reporting the incident to his grandmother, who, despite John's pleas to heed the threats of the gang and keep quiet, called the Providence Police Department (department). An officer arrived atthe Grieco home, interviewed John, and completed a standard report of the assault that was characterized as a "robbery-strong-arm" incident in the police report. Without the knowledge or consent of the Grieco family, this police report would soon become public information, causing further trauma for John. By notable travel of this report into a media-accessible box at the Providence police headquarters that included all recent incidents on file, Rhode Island's primary newspaper, The Providence Journal (Journal), gained access to John's identity, home address and the details of this crime. On February 18, 2002, John's true name and address, and the specifics of the assault, appeared in the "Providence Police News" section of the Journal.1
At John's request, Grieco did not seek immediate medical treatment for his injuries, but kept a guarded watch over him until, four days after the attack, he had adequately recovered, both mentally and physically, to return to school. On the day John returned to school, his teacher expressed sympathy about the incident and John learned that on that very morning, his harrowing story had been circulated to the public in the Journal. As a result, John was not only forced to relive the attack, but also was subjected to a wholly new fear that the gang would return to his home and seek revenge. John's fear was well-founded. The day after the article appeared, several young Asian males began loitering outside John's home, and then threw rocks in the direction of the Grieco dwelling. Grieco called the police once again that week to report these latestdisturbances. Unable to overcome his guilt about these threats and fearful for the safety of his mother and siblings, John and his family fled their home and remained at their grandmother's home in Cranston for the next seven to eight months. The family never permanently returned to their Providence residence. Further, John has never fully recovered from his fear and anxiety. A psychiatric evaluation, done approximately six years after the incident, revealed a diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder.
Grieco sued the city pursuant to G.L.1956 § 9-1-44,2 that provides for civil liability for the release of the name of any minor-victim by a member of any municipal or state agency. Grieco alleged that, but for the negligent release of the police report by the department, the Journal would not have obtained his name and address, and the subsequent publication of these unfortunate events would never have occurred. Consequently, Grieco attributed John's post traumatic illness to the newspaper article that was the direct result of the city's negligence. She sought compensatory damages and costs from the city. Pursuant to Rule 56 of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, she filed a motion seeking summary judgment on the issue of liability, and a civil motion calendar justice entered judgment against the city on March 3, 1999. Significantly, the city failed to object to summary judgment and offered no opposing evidence. Thereafter, a bench trial was held in May 2000, on the sole issue of damages. After one day oftestimony presented by plaintiff, including an expert medical opinion and no witnesses proffered by the city, the trial justice denied the city's motion for a judgment as a matter of law and entered judgment in favor of Grieco for the sum of $30,000. The city filed a timely appeal.
Although it failed to oppose the grant of summary judgment by the hearing justice, the city now attempts to contest the finding of liability and suggests that § 9-1-44 has been misinterpreted and that a proper interpretation of the statute would yield very different results for state and municipal agencies, such as the department. The city asserts that the legislative intent of the statute, as evidenced by its legislative history, was to place liability on individuals who violate § 9-1-44, but not to impute such liability to their employers. Additionally, the city suggests that in the interest of fostering the purpose and benefits of open government, this statute should be narrowly interpreted. The city interprets § 9-1-44 as creating a cause of action intended to deter the purposeful disclosure of a minor-victim's identity but not a disclosure occasioned by mere negligence. We respectfully conclude that the city may not attempt to litigate before this Court issues that it failed to raise in the Superior Court. Thus, the question of the city's liability is deemed waived by its failure to object to the entry of summary judgment.
The city's primary challenge rests on the amount of damages awarded by the trial justice sitting without a jury. The defendant contends that for a party to recover for emotional distress, clear proof of physical symptoms must be established, and that Grieco failed to demonstrate adequate physical symptomatology by introducing a psychiatric evaluation of a single examining physician. Additionally, the city argues that damages under § 9-1-44 are intended to compensate for the stigmatization of having one's identitypublished, not for the trauma arising from the violent attack that occurred prior to publication. Therefore, the city argues that $30,000 is an improper award since it purportedly compensates John for a lasting trauma that originated from the gang beating and was not causally related to the disclosure of his identity to the Journal. The city contends that the trial justice should have bifurcated damages intended to compensate a victim for harm caused by the assault from emotional distress damages caused by the publication of his name and address, thereby reducing the amount of damages attributable to the city's negligence. For the abovementioned reasons, the city asks us to vacate the judgment.
Grieco asserts that § 9-1-44 is remedial in nature and should be liberally construed in light of its salutary purpose. She applauds the trial court's award of damages as commensurate with John's injuries and based upon specific findings of fact by the trial justice that John suffered ongoing post traumatic stress disorder because of emotional trauma caused by the department's negligence. Grieco argues that the trial justice properly considered the material evidence and that his rationale was well-reasoned and supported by the evidence.
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