Court Opinion

ID: 9527646
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:32:12.466501+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:26:00.725456
License: Public Domain

Beasley, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion.
I would affirm the modest jury verdicts that have been awarded plaintiff in this case. Specifically, I do not agree that plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of intentional infliction of mental distress. In my opinion, the conduct of defendant insurance company was outrageous and atrocious.1 The trial judge submitted that issue to the jury, and the jury has spoken. I would not interfere with the jury’s award of $3,500 in damages for intentional infliction of mental distress.
Neither would I interfere with the jury’s award of $3,500 in damages for invasion of privacy. While this is not the usual invasion of privacy case, the evidence in this case was sufficient to go to the jury, and the instructions regarding invasion of privacy appear to have been in order.
Next, the majority would knock out the awards of damages for malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and defamation, being a sum of $10,500, and for $5,000 against defendants insurance agencies, all on a theory that they were entitled to set off against the judgment the amount of the settle*691ment plaintiff made with defendant lawyer, Shaker Brackett, in the sum of $27,500. I do not agree.
All of the outrageous and atrocious conduct performed by defendant insurance company did not arise from actions of the attorney, Shaker Brackett. In fact, various other employees of defendant insurance company were involved. Under these circumstances, I would not hold that a settlement by plaintiff with defendant attorney, Shaker Brackett, operated as a setoff against the jury’s awards of damages for the other torts.
Last, I would affirm the trial court’s award of actual costs under the mediation rule. Since I would not allow a setoff for the settlement with Brackett, I would affirm the trial court’s award of actual costs.
For the reasons indicated herein, I would affirm the trial court’s findings in full.

 Frishett v State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins Co, 3 Mich App 688; 143 NW2d 612 (1966), lv den 378 Mich 733 (1966).