Johna Benefield v. the Cincinnati Insurance Company ( 2013 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
October 4, 2013 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
147214 & (122) Michael F. Cavanagh
Stephen J. Markman
JOHNA BENEFIELD, Mary Beth Kelly
Plaintiff-Appellee, Brian K. Zahra
Cross-Appellant, Bridget M. McCormack
v SC: 147214 David F. Viviano,
Justices
COA: 300307
Oakland CC: 2008-092119-CZ
THE CINCINNATI INSURANCE COMPANY,
THE VILLAGE AT STONEGATE POINTE
CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, and NORTH
MANAGEMENT, INC.,
Defendants-Appellants,
Cross-Appellees.
_________________________________________
JOHNA BENEFIELD,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v Oakland CC: 2008-097062-CZ
BYRON CRAFT and RICHARD R. KOLAR,
Defendants-Appellees.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 19, 2013
judgment of the Court of Appeals and the application for leave to appeal as cross-
appellant are considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.302(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to
appeal, we REVERSE that portion of the Court of Appeals judgment that reversed the
trial court’s exclusion of emotional distress damages for the plaintiff’s breach of contract
and negligence claims. Emotional distress damages are generally not recoverable for
breach of a commercial contract, and the plaintiff did not establish that such damages
were within the contemplation of the parties at the time the contract was made. Kewin v
Massachusetts Mutual Ins Co, 409 Mich 401, 419 (1980). Emotional distress damages
are also generally not recoverable for the negligent destruction of property. Price v High
Pointe Oil Co, Inc, 493 Mich 238, 264 (2013). In all other respects, leave to appeal is
DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the remaining questions presented should be
reviewed by this Court.
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
October 4, 2013
t1001
Clerk