47 Pa. D. & C.5th 510
Pennsylvania Court of Common P...2015Background
- Plaintiffs Douglas and Amy Kreitzer sued ex-husband Michael J. DeMatteo and his employer ER Advanced Ceramics, Inc., alleging a website originating from an ER computer listed Amy’s maiden name, home address, and advertised sexual services, causing reputational and emotional harm.
- Complaint (filed Sept. 18, 2014) pleaded four counts: (1) false light invasion of privacy / intrusion upon seclusion; (2) negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED); (3) intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) (against DeMatteo only); and (4) loss of consortium (Douglas).
- Defendants filed preliminary objections challenging factual specificity and legal sufficiency (demurrers) under Pa.R.C.P. 1019 and 1028; oral argument was held and the court reviewed whether plaintiffs stated viable claims.
- Court accepted well-pled facts as true for preliminary-objection review but required that plaintiffs plead sufficient specificity (time/content) and legal elements for torts claimed.
- Court sustained specificity objection and sustained demurrers to NIED and IIED as to DeMatteo; sustained all preliminary objections by ER (dismissing invasion of privacy, NIED, and consortium claims as to ER).
- Plaintiffs were granted 20 days to file amended complaints as to each defendant.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specificity of pleadings (Pa.R.C.P. 1019/1028) | Kreitzer: described website publication and harms; content/publication suffice | DeMatteo: complaint fails to state when/where communications were discovered or specific content, preventing defense | Sustained — complaint lacked time/range/location and specific content; must amend |
| Negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED) | Kreitzer: emotional harm from defendants’ conduct (including ER via vicarious liability) | DeMatteo/ER: plaintiffs did not allege contractual/fiduciary duty, physical impact, zone-of-danger, or witnessing injury; no fiduciary duty between ex-spouses | Sustained — plaintiffs failed to allege required scenario or fiduciary relationship; claim dismissed (but leave to amend) |
| Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) (DeMatteo only) | Kreitzer: website conduct was outrageous and caused severe distress | DeMatteo: plaintiffs did not plead specific content or required medical/physical injury evidence to support severe emotional distress | Sustained — allegations insufficiently specific and lacked required competent medical evidence; IIED dismissed |
| Invasion of privacy / intrusion upon seclusion and vicarious liability (ER) | Kreitzer: ER knew or should have known of DeMatteo’s misuse of its computer and is vicariously liable | ER: invasion of privacy is an intentional tort; plaintiffs plead negligence/vicarious liability but did not plead intentional conduct by ER or a direct negligence claim | Sustained — invasion of privacy requires intentional conduct; plaintiffs’ vicarious-negligence theory insufficient to sustain privacy torts against ER; related NIED and loss-of-consortium claims against ER dismissed |
Key Cases Cited
- Hess v. Fox Rothschild, LLP, 925 A.2d 798 (Pa. Super. 2007) (standard for accepting well-pled facts on preliminary objections)
- Tucker v. Philadelphia Daily News, 757 A.2d 938 (Pa. Super. 2000) (preliminary-objection pleading principles)
- R. W. v. Manzek, 888 A.2d 740 (Pa. 2005) (preliminary objections sustained only when law will not permit recovery)
- Weiley v. Albert Einstein Med. Ctr., 51 A.3d 202 (Pa. Super. 2012) (NIED limited to specified scenarios and fiduciary relationships)
- Basile v. H & R Block, Inc., 777 A.2d 95 (Pa. Super. 2001) (elements of confidential/fiduciary relationship)
- Kazatsky v. King David Memorial Park, 527 A.2d 988 (Pa. 1987) (IIED requires extreme/outrageous conduct)
- Reardon v. Allegheny College, 926 A.2d 477 (Pa. Super. 2007) (definition and scope of outrageous conduct for IIED)
- Britt v. Chestnut Hill College, 632 A.2d 557 (Pa. Super. 1993) (necessity of competent medical evidence to support severe emotional distress for IIED)
- Scampone v. Highland Park Care Ctr., LLC, 57 A.3d 582 (Pa. 2012) (vicarious liability theory relates to negligence claims)
- Bennett v. Norban, 151 A.2d 476 (Pa. 1959) (privacy torts and right to be let alone)