Hickman By and Through Womble v. McKoin, 170PA93

• Court: United States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
• Citation: 446 S.E.2d 80,337 N.C. 460
• Decision Date: 29 July 1994
• Docket Number: No. 170PA93,170PA93
• Parties: Thomas L. HICKMAN, a minor By and Through his guardian ad litem, T. Daniel WOMBLE, and Darlene Hickman Pruitt v. Angela Lynn McKOIN, Terry Lee McKoin and Judy Pass McKoin.

Page 80

446 S.E.2d 80 337 N.C. 460 Thomas L. HICKMAN, a minor By and Through his guardian ad
litem, T. Daniel WOMBLE, and Darlene Hickman Pruitt
v.
Angela Lynn McKOIN, Terry Lee McKoin and Judy Pass McKoin. No. 170PA93. Supreme Court of North Carolina. July 29, 1994.

[337 N.C. 461] Robert A. Lauver, P.A. by Robert A. Lauver, Kernersville, for plaintiff-appellees.

Petree Stockton, L.L.P by Richard J. Keshian, Winston-Salem, for defendant-appellants.

EXUM, Chief Justice.

On 6 June 1991 plaintiffs sued for negligent infliction of emotional distress resulting from an injury to their mother which was caused by a motor vehicle accident involving defendant Angela McKoin. The trial court granted defendants' motion to dismiss, and the Court of Appeals reversed. We granted discretionary review on 7 October 1993.

Plaintiffs' complaint alleges that they are the children of Tommie R. Hickman, who was badly injured on 7 June 1988 in a head-on collision with defendants' car. Plaintiffs maintain the accident was caused by defendants' negligence. According to the complaint, plaintiffs, Thomas and Darlene, ages 12 and 15, respectively, at the time of the accident, were at the family home when they learned of the accident. Later that day they were told their mother was not likely to survive her injuries. Plaintiffs were permitted to see their mother briefly in the intensive care unit and suffered "great emotional anguish at the sight of their mother in such condition." Plaintiffs witnessed their mother in constant pain and suffering and observed her undergo a series of life-threatening operations and treatment over the course of several years from the time of the accident. As a result, plaintiffs allege they suffered "fear, shock, emotional and mental anguish and distress."

Page 82

Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint on the ground that it 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, Judge Rousseau allowed defendants' motion and dismissed plaintiffs' action with prejudice.

The Court of Appeals held "that plaintiffs' emotional distress could have been foreseeable to defendants when it arose from seeing their injured mother in the hospital shortly after the accident and continues to be caused by her severe injuries and ongoing difficulties." Hickman v. McKoin, 109 N.C.App. 478, 482, 428 S.E.2d 251, 254 (1993). The Court of Appeals, therefore, decided plaintiffs stated a claim and reversed the trial court's dismissal of the complaint. We disagree.

[337 N.C. 462] Because this case was dismissed prior to trial pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12(b)(6) (1990), it is clear under North Carolina law that we must treat the allegations of the complaint as true. Sorrells v. M.Y.B. Hospitality Ventures of Asheville, 334 N.C. 669, 435 S.E.2d 320 (1993) (citing Johnson v. Ruark Obstetrics and Gynecology Assocs., P.A., 327 N.C. 283, 395 S.E.2d 85 (1990); Ragsdale v. Kennedy, 286 N.C. 130, 209 S.E.2d 494 (1974)).

It is similarly well established that to state a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must allege that: "(1) the defendant negligently engaged in conduct, (2) it was reasonably foreseeable that such conduct would cause the plaintiff severe emotional distress ..., and (3) the conduct did in fact cause the plaintiff severe emotional distress." Sorrells, 334 N.C. at 672, 435 S.E.2d at 321-22 (quoting Ruark,...