In Estate of Carol Peasley v Maureen Glemboski, the Court addressed a narrow issue of first impression; whether grandchildren and grandparents are “immediate family members” for purposes of bystander recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress. In an opinion for publication, the Court cited other areas of Michigan law and the laws of other states in holding that grandchildren and grandparents are immediate family members for purposes of bystander recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The facts of the case are straightforward. The decedent was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Maureen Glemboski, who ran a red light resulting in the motor vehicle accident. The decedent’s granddaughters were in a motor vehicle directly behind the vehicle driven by Glemboski, and witnessed the accident.
The granddaughters brought a claim for bystander recovery based on negligent infliction of emotional distress. The defendant moved for summary disposition arguing that Michigan’s bystander recovery was limited to immediate family members, i.e., spouses, children, parents, and siblings. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Disposition was granted by the trial court.
In Michigan, the “class of persons entitled to…bystander recovery is extremely limited…” with that limited class generally defined as an “immediate member of the victim’s family.” Nugent v Bauermeister, 195 Mich App 158, 159; 489 NW2d 148 (1992). In Nugent, however, the question was whether a friend had a viable action for bystander recover. Although the Nugent Court declined to expand the limited class of those entitled to bystander recovery to friends, it did not definitely define “immediate member of the victim’s family.”
The Peasley Court also cited a Wyoming Supreme Court case in which the Wyoming court used the state’s wrongful death statute as a “rational and workable limit” for the class of plaintiff’s who would recover on a bystander claim. The Peasley Court found this persuasive and turned to the Michigan wrongful death statute for guidance. The wrongful death statute allows the deceased’s spouse, children, descendants, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters to recover, and if none of these persons survive the deceased, then those persons to whom the estate of the deceased would pass under the laws of intestate succession.
Just as the Michigan wrongful death statute allows for recovery by grandparents and grandchildren, other Michigan appellate courts also support a finding that grandchildren and grandparents are immediate family members for the purposes of bystander recovery for negligent infliction of mental distress. The Peasley Court limited its holding to grandparents and grandchildren, however, refusing to adopt a bright-line test as proposed by the defendants. Instead, the question whether a plaintiff’s relationship qualifies as immediate member of the victim’s family will need to be addressed on a case by case basis.
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Sarah Nadeau, Editor of The Garan Report Publication, is a Shareholder in our Detroit Office. Sarah can be reached at 313.446.1530 or snadeau@garanlucow.com