Opinion ID: 1938746
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Aggravation of the Injury

Text: We must still determine whether the trial court properly found that WMC's tortious conduct aggravated Holle's injury sufficiently to warrant imposition of punitive damages. Our cases suggest that where outrageous or malicious conduct is the gravamen of the underlying tort, the same conduct can also satisfy the requirement of aggravation of the injury, since it is by definition ... conduct which society finds intolerable, and seeks to deter. Sere v. Group Hospitalization, supra note 24, 443 A.2d at 37-38, citing Harris v. Wagshal, supra, 343 A.2d at 288 & n. 13 (discussing intentional infliction of emotional distress). We need not decide, however, whether WMC's filing of a groundless lawsuit naming only Holle would support punitive damages without more, because the trial judge based her award upon other actions of WMC as well. As Judge Kessler stated, [A]ll the facts and allegations in this case, like the pieces of a mosaic, must ultimately be viewed in their totality to discern whether any pattern exists. She found a clear and consistent pattern of bad faith in [WMC's] dealings with the MHEC partners. In making this finding, she took note of WMC's refusal to remit Holle's distributive share of the proceeds of the sale at the time all other partners were paid, conduct amounting to a separate breach of trust. [30] She found WMC's refusal to recognize Holle's rights to be willful and calculated to punish him for his inquiries into WMC's management practices, pointing to evidence that WMC attempted to condition payment upon Holle's agreement to execute a general release when no other partner was required to sign such a document. [31] All told, the court found WMC's lawsuit to be the culmination of a series of acts marked by refusal to acknowledge Holle's undisputed rights, efforts to exact unwarranted concessions from him, and an intent to coerce him into abandoning his inquiry into WMC's practices. As explained earlier, the required mental state for punitive damages often must be inferred from the totality of the parties' behavior. Parker, supra, 557 A.2d at 1322. On this record, we cannot say that the trial court's recognition of a pattern of malice or willful disregard of Holle's rights is unsupported by the evidence. Nor can we say that the amount of damages was excessive or otherwise an abuse of discretion.