Court Opinion

ID: 9573117
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:48:00.925093+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:37:00.743509
License: Public Domain

Doctoroff, RJ.
0concurring in part and dissenting in part). I concur with the majority’s conclusion that plaintiffs’ wrongful birth claim is barred by the statute of limitations and with the majority’s resolution of plaintiffs’ negligent infliction of emotional distress claim. However, I dissent from the majority opinion with respect to its purported abolition of the wrongful birth tort where this Court’s recognition of that tort was not challenged by the parties or decided by the trial court.
First, the majority’s attempt to abolish the wrongful birth tort is in vain where its discussion with respect to whether this Court should continue to recognize that tort, and its purported abolition of the tort, is merely dictum with no precedential value. “[Statements concerning a principle of law not essential to determination of the case are obiter dictum and lack the force of an adjudication.” Roberts v Auto-Owners Ins Co, 422 Mich 594, 597-598; 374 NW2d 905 (1985). In the instant case, defendants *362moved for summary disposition on the ground that plaintiffs’ wrongful birth claim was barred by the statute of limitations. Thus, with respect to the wrongful birth claim, the only issue before us was whether the wrongful birth claim was barred by the statute of limitations. A review of the complaint, the answers to the complaint, the affirmative defenses, the disposi-tive motions, the transcript of the summary disposition motion hearing, the claim of appeal, and the appellate briefs reveáis that this Court’s recognition of the wrongful birth tort was never challenged by the parties. The only determination essential to the narrow issue raised by the parties with respect to the wrongful birth claim was whether plaintiffs’ complaint was filed within the applicable statute of limitations period. A discussion of the history of the wrongful birth tort and related torts, and a conclusion that we should no longer recognize wrongful birth claims, was not essential to the determination of this case and was, in my opinion, a waste of judicial time and resources where, as dicta, the discussion and conclusion are of no precedential value.
Moreover, the majority’s conclusion that the wrongful birth tort should be abolished was made without the aid of briefing or argument by the parties. “It is well settled that issues neither briefed nor argued cannot be definitively decided, and that the Court’s pronouncements, especially dicta, without briefing and argument, are not stare decisis.” Quinton v General Motors Corp, 453 Mich 63, 74; 551 NW2d 677 (1996) (Levin, J). This is an appellate court that is intended to review issues raised by the parties, and it is not the job of this Court to manufacture issues to be decided. The majority does not limit its review to *363issues raised or considered below, but takes it upon itself to formulate an issue and then decide that issue when it has not been asked to do so. The majority’s opinion is an exercise in futility, which should be avoided by this Court. Our caseload and workload are significant enough without judges manufacturing issues that are irrelevant to the issues raised and briefed by the parties. The material included in the majority opinion is best reserved for an article in a legal periodical, where a judge is free to write about issues of concern to the judge. An opinion that is written for the benefit of parties and lawyers is not the proper place for a judge to voice the judge’s own views. This is unnecessary judicial activism, which is usually scorned by the majority. I would have decided plaintiffs’ argument that their wrongful birth claim was barred by the statute of limitations on that narrow ground, alone. The consideration of whether this Court should continue to recognize wrongful birth claims should be left for a day when that issue is before us. Thus, because the issue was not raised, briefed, or argued by the parties below or on appeal, I cannot join in the majority opinion to the extent that it discusses whether this Court should continue to recognize a wrongful birth cause of action and concludes that it should not.
Nevertheless, I concur with the majority with respect to its conclusion that the trial court properly granted summary disposition of plaintiffs’ wrongful birth and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims. I agree that plaintiffs’ wrongful birth claim accrued when defendant Kurapati interpreted the ultrasound on December 4, 1993, and that, by failing to bring their claim within two years of the date their *364claim accrued, plaintiffs failed to file their claim within the applicable statute of limitations period. MCL 600.5805(4); MSA 27A.5805(4), MCL 600.5838a(2); MSA 27A.5838(1)(2). Thus, I concur with the majority to the extent that it addresses the statute of limitations issue and concludes that summary disposition was proper on that basis pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(7). I further concur with the majority’s resolution of plaintiffs’ negligent infliction of emotional distress claim. The undisputed facts did not support a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress, and plaintiffs failed to allege that the shock of their daughter’s birth caused them physical harm. Thus, summary disposition was appropriate pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(8) and (10).