Memorandum of Law

Grade: 18 / 20

Week Three, Writing Assignment #2, Closed Memo Submission

  | Memorandum  |   |

To: Susan Suzemore Esq.

From: David Young

Date: November 13, 2009

Re: Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress / Maryland / Daphne

Issues:

Under Maryland law, can a funeral operator, who interferes with and delays the orderly and solemn process of a funeral and burial, be held liable for Intentional Inflection of Emotion Distress?

Brief Answers: Yes, I believe Maryland law accommodates such cause of action. Why? Give a brief answer.

Facts: Daphne had a contractual agreement with a funeral operator for full funeral service arrangements and a burial plot for her mother.  In accordance with the agreement, when the mother passed away Daphne proceeded to put her to rest. On the day of the funeral, as the procession approached the gates to the cemetery, the graveyard operator abruptly interrupted the solemn affair by blocking entry into the graveyard by refusing to unlock the gates.

The Graveyard Operator named Josephine had known Daphne for years and had signed the contract with her in good faith. Part of the issue here is that Josephine may have seen this moment as an opportunity to avenge a decades old grudge. In her authority as Graveyard Operator, Josephine demanded to see the contract knowing full well it to be in order.  She also commenced to make humiliating comments towards an inconsolable Daphne while the funeral was held in limbo further while Josephine spent precious time retrieving keys which would open the gate allowing the funeral to consummate.

Discussion:

In a case of first impression, the State of Maryland held that an actionable tort of “Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress” is viable within the state. The Court reasoned in Jones v. Harris, 35 Md. App. 556, 371 A.2d 1104 (1977) that the majority of states now recognize tort liability for “Infliction of Emotional Distress” in actions separate and...