Court Opinion

ID: 9545372
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 17:10:45.998084+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:14:35.917077
License: Public Domain

DURHAM, Associate Chief Justice,
dissenting:
On review of summary judgment, this court is obligated to view the facts in the fight most favorable to the non-moving party and to find that there are no disputed issues *73of material fact. Clover v. Snowbird Ski Resort, 808 P.2d 1037 (Utah 1991). This the majority has failed to do.
This court has, as the majority notes, adopted the standard set forth in section 313 of the Restatement of Torts (Second) for recovery for negligent infliction of emotional distress: liability exists for “illness or bodily harm” resulting from negligent acts. I believe first, that the majority opinion has conflated the “illness” factor with the “bodily harm” part of the standard, and second, it has inappropriately resolved disputed issues of material fact regarding the severity of the symptoms actually alleged to have been caused by the defendant’s negligence.
The totality of facts in this limited record, in my view, reflect a rather different history than do those highlighted in the majority opinion. The plaintiffs sought treatment from the University of Utah Medical Center Fertility Clinic after a significant period of unsuccessful efforts to conceive a child, including at least two full cycles of unsuccessful artificial insemination. They had been informed before this contact that the likely cause of their infertility was Mr. Harnicher’s low sperm count and decreased sperm mobility, which significantly decreased the possibility of conception by natural methods.
During their initial consultation with the medical staff at the University, they discussed alternative treatments including artificial insemination using Mr. Harnieher’s sperm and in vitro fertilization using either Mr. Hamicher’s sperm or donor sperm. Two artificial insemination attempts at the University were unsuccessful, and Mrs. Har-nicher’s gynecologist Dr. Hatasaka recommended they consult with Dr. Urry regarding in vitro fertilization. Mrs. Harnicher’s deposition reflects her high degree of concern — from the very first interview with Dr. Urry — for identifying the treatment process that would most closely approximate natural conception of their biological child. The following excerpts from her deposition demonstrate this concern:
Answer [by Mrs. Harnicher]: Dr. Urry said that for us to be able to have our biological child, that we had to do in vitro; and to have our biological child — the chances of in vitro working, period, were 20 to 30 percent a cycle; and that he gave us a 14 percent chance of having our biological child from that in vitro cycle, from each cycle.
And he drew on the chalkboard how he would do it, how he would put David’s sperm in one petri dish and David’s sperm mixed with a donor in a second petri dish; and that he would mieromanipulate the eggs in the one dish with David’s-only sperm, and that if he was able to get embryos from that, he would use them first and then he would go to the donor mix next if we didn’t get success with David’s only.
And I was very apprehensive about the donor. I wanted David’s biological child. And that’s why I did in vitro....
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I expressed my apprehension to Urry. And I started asking him about how he selects donors, about their personality, what would be their motive to be a donor, whether it was philanthropic or financial— you know, I wanted to know that — and if he had any donors on his list that looked like David.
... I cried a lot at that meeting. I can remember that. I was very shook.
Question: And what was the cause or source of your stress and crying?
Answer: About the possibility of not being able to have David’s biological child and having to use a donor....
He said that they did an extensive interview, screening of the donors, and that he screened — that he might only pick one in some large number of available donors based on their appearance and their personality and their intelligence and other inheritable traits....
And I was inquiring more and more about, you know, the type of people and the personality and whether he had anybody that looked like David.
After the first meeting with Dr. Urry described above, he gave plaintiffs his list of donors to review. Mrs. Harnicher described the following exchange with Dr. Urry and another employee of the hospital:
*74And he went through — I don’t know— three to six different guys. And he gave me descriptions on their personalities. And then he narrowed it down to [donor number] 183. And then he told me that— well, in that same conversation, that if you’re not — since you’re not going to tell the kids, then you’ve also got to match the blood type....
I said, Gosh, I didn’t even — I didn’t even think about the blood type.
Thus, Dr. Urry recommended donor 183 because of matching blood type and the fact that the procedure he contemplated using would leave the actual biological parentage of any offspring entirely unknown as between Mr. Harnieher and the closely matched donor.
After further inquiries about donor 183, which met with reassuring responses about his general resemblance to her husband in physical appearance, Mrs. Harnieher settled on donor 183.
Answer: [A hospital employee] wanted to know if I had narrowed down my donor choices. And I said, I only have one choice. And I said, 183. And he said 183 was on the frozen [sperm] list only....
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And [he] said, Well, frozen doesn’t work as well as fresh, and I can’t get a fresh sample from 183, that this guy was on vacation, 183.
And he said, Do you still want to do donor backup ? And I said, Only if you can get 188....
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He called up again to confirm, my donor just to be cautious because I didn't put down backups to 188. I just put down one. And he said: I just want to verify that this is what you want to do. Do you want to do a donor mix? And I said, Yes if you can get 183. He said, Well, I can only get it frozen. Again, I said: I know. I know. I know. Let’s just go with frozen.
(Emphasis added.) Mrs. Harnicher’s deposition also details numerous attempts on her part to elicit specific physical details about donor 183, which seem to reflect her extreme concern about the resemblance issue.
Answer: ... and then we got to 183. And I asked her about 183. And she said he was very good-looking, really nice, pretty eyes, and that — she said he was tall and thin and he was the most handsome of all the donors, always has a smile. So I asked her what his teeth looked like, because David has straight teeth and I wanted to know.
And then I asked her about his — if he had broad shoulders like David. I remembered that because she got a little annoyed with me because I was being too specific and she didn’t want me to find out who the donors were, I assume. So she said: I can’t tell you that about his shoulders. He has a nice build. And she said, Out of all of them, he looks most like David. And so then that was it.
Counsel for the defendant suggested — and the majority appears to have accepted the suggestion — that the plaintiffs are disappointed that their children are not “better looking.” It is clear from a review of Mrs. Harnicher’s deposition testimony that the primary issue for her was always the degree to which her children would look like Mr. Harnieher, their father, not their general “good looks.” The majority opinion dismisses the Harniehers’ desire to believe and represent that any children born as a result of the treatment they received were David Har-nicher’s biological offspring as a “fiction,” which it cannot be tortious to destroy. But Mrs. Harnicher’s testimony asserts that she would not have undergone donor sperm in vitro fertilization without the assurance that she, her husband, and any children they had would never need to know whether a biological bond existed. Had it not been for the University’s negligence in mixing sperm from the wrong donor with David’s, the “fiction” would never have been labeled a fiction; it would simply have been an “alternative reality” for the Harnieher family. In fact, in a sense, it was this alternative that the Har-niehers negotiated for in their contract with the University, and that the University destroyed through its negligent act.
Moreover, the Medical Center actively encouraged the Harniehers to undergo in vitro fertilization and adopt this “fiction” despite *75the fact that the Harnichers expressed reservations about raising a child who was not biologically their own, and despite current scientific literature which weighs heavily against encouraging such a “fiction.” See, e.g., Barbara Eck Menning, Donor Insemination: the Psychosocial Issues, 18 Con-temp. OB/GYN 155, 162 (1981) (stating that it is “medically reprehensible” to alleviate the “genetic loss” by using semen mixing and telling patients that they will never know “which sperm got there first”); Robert D. Nachtigall et al., Stigma, Disclosure, and Family Functioning Among Parents of Children Conceived Through Donor Insemination, Fertility and Sterility, July-Dee., 1997, at 83 (encouraging disclosure of conception through donor insemination). The notion that there can be no loss or harm associated with the destruction of the very circumstance the University counseled the Harnichers to seek and promised to provide is unrealistic in human terms.
The most cursory review of the history of civilization demonstrates that the biological component of parentage has never been trivial in human affairs. See, e.g., Dr. Th. H. Van De Velde, Fertility and Sterility in Marriage: Their Voluntary Promotion and Limitation 79-84 (F.W. Stella Browne trans., 1929); C. Lee Buxton & Anna L. Southam, Human Infertility 203-16 (1958); Charles A. Joel, Fertility Disturbances in Men and Women 317-27 (1971); Fertility and Sterility 359-69 (R.F. Harrison et al. eds., 1983). The trial court and the majority appear convinced that the loss of an unassailable assurance that one’s children carry one’s genes is of negligible value. Such a conviction is belied by the extraordinary lengths to which thousands of people in this era will go to pursue biological parenthood. See generally Infertility: Diagnosis and Management 17-19, 23 (James Aúnan ed., 1984).
Some women will choose not to have children if they cannot honestly believe (whether the belief is accurate or not) that those children are biologically linked to their husbands; in fact, that was the objective of the in vitro procedure recommended to the Har-nichers, as well as Dr. Urry’s advice that donor 183 be selected for the donor mix because of his matching blood type and physical resemblance. Mrs. Harnicher testified that she was one of those women who only wanted children if there was a biological link to her husband, and I cannot concede that her choice is illegitimate because I, or any other judge, might view it as misguided. The majority reflects its failure to understand this point when it observes that “the Harnichers’ assertion that David did not want children unless they were biologically his own is belied by the couple’s knowing consent to the use of donor sperm.” This misstates the Harnichers’ claim — they have only asserted that they did not want children unless it would be highly unlikely that they would ever know that their child was not biologically David’s, thus permitting the assumption of biological continuity. The use of donor sperm from a closely-matched donor, when mixed with David’s, would not interfere with their objective; that is precisely why the University staff recommended the procedure, and the reason the Harnichers consented to it.
In addition to the flaws in the majority opinion’s characterization of the Harnichers’ claims, there are analytic problems with its application of the Restatement standard to the facts. Section 313, which this court has adopted, specifies liability for negligent infliction of emotional distress for “illness or bodily harm.” I take the position first, that mental illness of an incapacitating severity— standing alone and unassociated with so-called “physical” symptoms or findings— qualifies as “illness” within the meaning of that section, and second, that even if the standard is read to mean “illness with some bodily harm” (which is in fact how the majority opinion seems to read it), there is evidence in the record to get past summary judgment on the Harnichers’ damages.
As to the first question — whether mental illness standing alone qualifies as “illness” within the meaning of the Restatement — I find it anomalous that this court would be willing to deny the possibility in this era of awareness about the severe impact of mental disability on the texture and quality of human life. Any number of conditions associated with mental illness can be incapacitating *76•without any overt “bodily” manifestations, as, for example, clinical depression, anxiety disorders and panic response, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and eating disorders, to name a few. “Suffering,” as is increasingly understood by medicine, is not a phenomenon in which the physical and the mental sources and causes of pain may be readily differentiated. See generally Erie J. Cassell, The Nature of Suffering and The Goals of Medicine (1991) (arguing that suffering — the quintessential feature of sickness — cannot be analyzed or relieved). Likewise, it is not the case that we refuse in our tort system to attempt quantification and compensation for suffering that has a mental or emotional component. Indeed we undertake such a calculus regularly in wrongful death and personal injury contexts.
Aside from these considerations, however, there is an affidavit in this record filed by a clinical psychologist, with over ten years of experience in “assessment and treatment of mental disorders,” who performed rather extensive testing on the Harnichers. He opines as follows in that affidavit:
a. David Harnicher is a 45 year old male of estimated above-average intelligence who is currently experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety which is [sic] corroborated by testing.
b. David’s depressive symptoms include persistent depressed mood, loss of interest in and enjoyment of usual activities, sleep disturbance, fatigue, feelings of inadequacy and diminished confidence, pessimism regarding the future, irritability, social withdrawal, impaired concentration, decreased motivation, diminished work productivity and thoughts of death.
c. David’s anxiety symptoms include persistent apprehension and excessive worry, constantly feeling “keyed up,” fatigue, concentration difficulties, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance and abdominal discomfort associated with stressful situations.
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e.The disclosure that his wife’s children were not biologically his was 'especially disappointing and stressful to him because he has not wanted children unless they were his. He had hoped and expected that he would at least be able to believe that the children might be his. This has caused difficulties in his marriage to Stephanie Harnicher.
f. Stephanie Harnicher is a 38 year old female of above average intelligence who suffers from major Depressive Disorder, recurrent, severe, Panic Disorder, and Generalized anxiety disorder which are corroborated by testing.
g. Stephanie’s depressive symptoms include the following: Persistent low mood, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, feelings of worthlessness, feelings of hopelessness, decreased appetite with 10 lbs. of weight loss, decreased sexual interest, irritability, periods of crying and having to push herself to do things.
h. Stephanie’s panic attacks are characterized by her heart pounding and racing, severe shaking, cold flashes, shortness of breath, inability to speak, a choking sensation, chest and arm pain, dizziness, and fear of losing control or “going crazy.”
i. Stephanie further shows more general anxiety symptoms including excessive worry and apprehension, irritability, shaking, grinding her teeth, muscle tension, concentration difficulty, fears about leaving the house and fingernail biting.
j. These symptoms have progressed over time beginning with the disclosure that the donor sperm was mixed up and the children were definitely not Davids (sic). The trauma suffered by Stephanie ... has gotten progressively worse as she has had to deal with the issues surrounding the disclosure that the children’s biological father was neither David, nor the donor chosen by the Harnichers.
Dr. Kocherhans’ affidavit concludes with the opinion that “[t]he fact that [the Harnieh-ers] did not seek treatment sooner is not an indication that they were not experiencing genuine suffering” and that “both David and Stephanie are in need of treatment for the above stated disorders.”
In light of the foregoing assertions of fact, none of which are controverted in any fashion by the defendants, Stephanie Harnicher’s *77deposition testimony that she does not claim “bodily harm” as the result of the negligent use of the wrong donor sperm, and David’s statement that “I can’t think we’ve claimed anything other than [emotional or mental stress or anguish]” are not dispositive on the question of the existence of mental illness with physical manifestations. Just as one suffering from cancer, from a progressive neurological disease, or even from viral and bacterial infections may not be aware of the disease process and may not attribute symptoms to the correct cause, so a person suffering from mental illness may not be aware of or able to articulate that fact. Indeed, one of the characteristics of the most common form of mental illness — clinical depression — is the lack of insight on the part of the sufferer that an illness process is implicated. Thus I think that even if the Harnichers had explicitly denied suffering from mental illness in their depositions, which they did not, they would still be entitled to offer expert testimony to the contrary, as they have done through the Kocherhans affidavit. An issue of fact sufficient to avoid summary judgment is thus created. Someone with undiagnosed early-stage multiple sclerosis or emphysema might well deny being sick — but not knowing you are ill doesn’t mean you aren’t.
The Restatement standard under which this court is operating does not require “bodily harm” in addition to “illness,” but rather as an alternative. In any event, even if physical symptoms were necessary to establish “illness,” as the majority seems to conclude, many of the symptoms described in the Kocherans affidavit readily satisfy such a requirement: e.g., sleep disturbance, fatigue, muscle tension, abdominal discomfort, weight loss, severe shaking, cold flashes, shortness of breath, chest and arm pain, dizziness. Clearly, there are factual questions in this case about causation and the severity of the illness that the Harnichers claim. Those are jury questions. In fact, they are typical jury questions.
The majority appears to be reluctant to view the Harnichers’ response to their asserted loss as a damaging one, in view of the fact that they do indeed have three healthy and loved children despite the University’s negligence in performing this procedure. The alleged facts, however, clearly meet the traditional standard for negligence: 1) the existence of a duty on the part of the University to use the donor sperm selected by the Harnichers that would have permitted them to believe the children to be their full biological children; 2) a breach of that duty through the University’s mistake in using sperm from the wrong donor; B) injury consisting of the Harnichers’ loss of the opportunity to believe their children to be their full biological offspring; and 4) damages in the form of mental illness requiring treatment, accompanied by physical symptoms. I grant that the facts are only alleged at this point, including those relating to the causation question, but Dr. Kocherans’ affidavit asserts facts respecting causation and damages sufficient to exceed the summary judgment threshold.
Most troubling to me, and unnecessary to the result of the majority opinion, is its general tone of disdain for and belittlement of the nature of the suffering claimed by the Harnichers. An extensive body of literature analyzing the experience of infertility, and the complexity of the psychoemotional issues raised by in vitro fertilization, and the use of donor sperm, undercuts the majority’s apparent assumption that the result of having children — any children by any means — obviates any possible loss associated with not having the children one planned (and in this ease contracted) for. See, e.g., Arthur L. Greil, Infertility and Psychological Distress: A Critical Review of the Literature, 45 Soc. Sci. Med. 1679, 1679-1704 (1997); Robert D. Nachtigall, supra at 88-89; Barbara Eck Menning, The Psychology of Infertility, in Infertility: Diagnosis and Management 17 (James Aiman ed., 1984). In The Psychology of Infertility, Barbara Eck Menning observes:
Many women feel that it is “selfish” to achieve a pregnancy without the genetic contribution of the husband. This loss of genetic continuity is an important factor for the husband to discuss and to accept. No matter how well the donor is matched *78to the husband, this loss is real and has to be grieved over....
Both husband and wife may have exaggerated fears as the time of delivery approaches. One fear frequently verbalized is that somehow a mistake in selection of donor may have been made and the resulting baby will have a totally incongruous racial or physical appearance. This fear is the subject of dreams, fantasies, and general anxiety. There may also be more subtle fears regarding the baby’s health, intelligence, and attractiveness. To preserve anonymity, very little information is shared about the donor.- A great deal of faith must be placed in the hands of the doctor or clinic doing the screening and selecting of donors. This is a sacred trust that no facility offering donor insemination should take lightly.
Menning, supra at 24.
In conclusion, I believe that a compensable loss and eligible damages have been asserted by plaintiffs and that they are entitled to have their cause of action tried by a jury. I would reverse.
STEWART, J., concurs in the dissenting opinion of Associate Chief Justice DURHAM.