Vetter v. Morgan

913 P.2d 1200 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P was injured when her van ran off the road after an encounter with a car owned by Morgan's (D) father and driven by Dana Gaither. D and Jerrod Faulkner were passengers in the car. P was alone at 1:30 or 1:45 a.m. when she stopped her van in the right-hand westbound lane of an intersection at a stoplight. D and Gaither drove up beside P. D began screaming vile and threatening obscenities at P, shaking his fist, and making obscene gestures in a violent manner. Gaither revved the engine of the car and moved the car back and forth while D was threatening. D threatened to remove her from her van and spat on her van door when the traffic light turned green. P stated she was very frightened and thought D was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She was able to write down the license tag number of the car. D stated he did not intend to scare, upset, or harm P, but 'didn't really care' how she felt. He was trying to amuse his friends, who were laughing at his antics. When the traffic light changed to green, the car driven by Gaither veered suddenly into her lane, and she reacted by steering her van sharply to the right. P's van struck the curb, causing her head to hit the steering wheel and snap back against the seat, after which she fell to the floor of the van. D and Gaither denied that the car veered into P's lane, stating they drove straight away from the intersection and did not see P's collision with the curb. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of D, ruling P could not raise a negligence claim against D for unintended results of his intentional acts. It ruled that D's actions did not constitute assault or outrageous conduct and dismissed all claims against D. P appealed.