Patricia Graves, et al. v. Warner Bros., Jenny Jones Show and Telepictures

Defendants appeal as of right from the entry of judgment in the amount of $29,332,686
following the jury's verdict in plaintiffs' favor in this wrongful death action. We reverse, vacate
the judgment, and remand for entry of judgment in favor of defendants, holding that under the
circumstances defendants owed no legally cognizable duty to protect plaintiffs' decedent from
the homicidal acts of a third party.

I.

The instant case has its origins in the tragic murder of plaintiffs' decedent, Scott
Amedure, in March of 1995 by Jonathan Schmitz, who was ultimately convicted of seconddegree
murder. The facts underlying the highly publicized criminal case are set forth in this
Court's decision, People v Schmitz, 231 Mich App 521, 523; 586 NW2d 766 (1998), which
addressed Schmitz' original appeal of his murder conviction:

This case arises from defendant's killing of Scott Amedure with a shotgun
on March 9, 1995. Three days before the shooting, defendant appeared with
Amedure and Donna Riley in Chicago for a taping of an episode of the Jenny
Jones talk show, during which defendant was surprised by Amedure's revelation
that he had a secret crush on him. After the taping, defendant told many friends
and acquaintances that he was quite embarrassed and humiliated by the
experience and began a drinking binge.

On the morning of the shooting, defendant found a sexually suggestive
note from Amedure on his front door. Defendant then drove to a local bank,
withdrew money from his savings account, and purchased a 12-gauge pumpaction
shotgun and some ammunition. Defendant then drove to Amedure's
trailer, where he confronted Amedure about the note. When Amedure just smiled
at him, defendant walked out of the trailer, stating that he had to shut off his car.
Instead, defendant retrieved the shotgun and returned to the trailer. Standing at
the front door, defendant fired two shots into Amedure's chest, leaving him with
no chance for survival. Defendant left the scene and telephoned 911 to confess to
the shooting.

Following a jury trial, Schmitz was found guilty of second-degree murder and possession
of a firearm during the commission of a felony; however, this Court reversed the conviction and
remanded the case for a new trial based on an error concerning peremptory challenges and jury
selection. Schmitz, supra. On remand, Schmitz was again found guilty of second-degree murder
and felony-firearm and sentenced to twenty-five to fifty years' imprisonment on the murder
conviction. His conviction and sentence were affirmed by this Court in People v Schmitz,
unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued January 22, 2002 (Docket No.
222834).

In the wrongful death action now before this Court, plaintiffs Patricia Graves and Frank
Amedure, Sr., as personal representatives of the estate of Scott Amedure, alleged that Schmitz
shot and killed Amedure as a direct and proximate result of the actions of the present defendants,
the Jenny Jones Show (the show), its owner, Warner Bros., and its producer, Telepictures.1
Plaintiffs essentially contended that defendants "ambushed" Schmitz when they taped the
episode of the show in question,2 intentionally withholding from Schmitz that the true topic of
the show was same-sex crushes and never attempting to determine, before the show, the impact
the ambush might have on Schmitz. Plaintiffs alleged that defendants knew or should have
known that their actions would incite violence with the sole purpose of the show being the
increase in television ratings, and that defendants had an affirmative duty to prevent or refrain
from placing plaintiffs' decedent in a position which would unnecessarily and unreasonably
expose him to the risk of harm, albeit the criminal conduct of a third person. Plaintiffs
maintained that the show breached its duty and foreseeably subjected plaintiffs' decedent to an
unreasonable risk of harm, ultimately resulting in his death.

Defendants' motions for summary disposition and directed verdict were denied by the
trial court, which opined that there were genuine issues of material fact regarding duty and
foreseeability, negligence, and causation. Following extensive trial proceedings, a jury returned
a verdict in plaintiffs' favor, and a judgment was subsequently entered thereon awarding
plaintiffs $29,332,686 in damages. The trial court denied defendants' posttrial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial or remittitur.
Defendants now appeal.

II.

In defendants' first issue on appeal, we are confronted with the cornerstone of this case –
whether defendants owed a duty to plaintiffs' decedent to protect him from harm caused by the
criminal acts of a third party, Jonathan Schmitz. Defendants argue that they owed no such duty
and that the trial court erred in denying defendants relief as a matter of law where plaintiffs
failed to show a duty to prevent Schmitz' violent conduct. We agree.

Motions for summary disposition, directed verdict, and judgment notwithstanding the
verdict are reviewed de novo. Badalamenti v Beaumont Hosp, 237 Mich App 278, 284; 602
NW2d 854 (1999); Meagher v Wayne State Univ, 222 Mich App 700, 708; 565 NW2d 401
(1997); Turner v Mercy Hosps & Health Services of Detroit, 210 Mich App 345, 348; 533 NW2d
365 (1995); Jenkins v Southeastern Michigan Chapter, American Red Cross, 141 Mich App 785,
792; 369 NW2d 223 (1985).

A motion under MCR 2.116(C)(10) tests the factual sufficiency of the complaint. Under
subsection (C)(10), a trial court considers affidavits, pleadings, depositions, admissions, and
other evidence submitted by the parties, MCR 2.116(G)(5), in the light most favorable to the
party opposing the motion. The trial court should grant the motion if the affidavits or other
documentary evidence show that there is no genuine issue regarding any material fact and the
moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. MCR 2.116(C)(10), (G)(4). Maiden v
Rozwood, 461 Mich 109, 120; 597 NW2d 817 (1999); Quinto v Cross & Peters Co, 451 Mich
358; 547 NW2d 314 (1996).

In reviewing a denied motion for a directed verdict, this Court must examine the evidence
and all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from it in a light most favorable to the
nonmoving party. Clark v Kmart Corp, 465 Mich 416, 418; 634 NW2d 347 (2001); Mason v
Royal Dequindre, Inc, 455 Mich 391, 397; 566 NW2d 199 (1997). Only if the evidence so
viewed fails to establish a claim as a matter of law should the motion be granted. Clark, supra at
418-419. The same standard applies in review of motions for judgment notwithstanding the
verdict. Orzel v Scott Drug Co, 449 Mich 550, 557-558; 537 NW2d 208 (1995).

Questions about whether a duty exists are for the court to decide as a matter of law.
Mason, supra; Murdock v Higgins, 454 Mich 46, 53; 559 NW2d 639 (1997); Scott v Harper
Recreation, Inc, 444 Mich 441, 448; 506 NW2d 857 (1993). The fundamental principles
concerning the threshold issue of duty in a negligence action are well established and have been
set forth in detail on numerous occasions by our courts. See, generally, Case v Consumers
Power Co, 463 Mich 1, 6; 615 NW2d 17 (2000); Maiden, supra; Murdock, supra; Buczkowski v
McKay, 441 Mich 96, 100-101; 490 NW2d 330 (1992); Friedman v Dozorc, 412 Mich 1, 22; 312
NW2d 585 (1981); Moning v Alfono, 400 Mich 425, 437; 254 NW2d 759 (1977); Krass v Tri-
County Security, Inc, 233 Mich App 661, 667-668; 593 NW2d 578 (1999); Baker v Arbor Drugs,
Inc, 215 Mich App 198, 203; 544 NW2d 727 (1996). Briefly reiterated, a negligence action may
be maintained only if a legal duty exists that requires the defendant to conform to a particular
standard of conduct in order to protect others against unreasonable risks of harm. Maiden, supra
at 131-132. This analysis requires a determination whether the relationship of the parties is the sort that a legal obligation should be imposed on one for the benefit of another. Id.; Friedman,
supra. In determining whether a duty exists, courts look to different variables, including
"foreseeability of the harm, existence of a relationship between the parties involved, degree of
certainty of injury, closeness of connection between the conduct and the injury, moral blame
attached to the conduct, policy of preventing future harm, and the burdens and consequences of
imposing a duty and the resulting liability for breach." Krass, supra at 668-669. See also,
Buczkowski, supra at 100-101; Terry v Detroit, 226 Mich App 418, 424; 573 NW2d 348 (1997).

Of particular import to the present appeal is the principle that, in general, there is no legal
duty obligating one person to aid or protect another. Krass, supra at 668. Moreover, an
individual has no duty to protect another from the criminal acts of a third party in the absence of
a special relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff or the defendant and the third party.
Murdock, supra at 54; Buczkowski, supra at 103-104; Smith v Jones, 246 Mich App 270, 275;
632 NW2d 509 (2001); Krass, supra at 668-669; Marcelletti v Bathani, 198 Mich App 655, 664;
500 NW2d 124 (1993). The rationale underlying this general rule is the fact that "[c]riminal
activity, by its deviant nature, is normally unforeseeable." Papadimas v Mykonos Lounge, 176
Mich App 40, 46-47; 439 NW2d 280 (1989). Our Court in Papadimas, quoting Prosser &
Keaton, Torts (5th ed), § 33, p 201, emphasized that "[u]nder all ordinary and normal
circumstances, in the absence of any reason to expect the contrary, the actor may reasonably
proceed upon the assumption that others will obey the criminal law." Id. at 47. As further
explained by our Supreme Court in Williams v Cunningham Drug, 429 Mich 495, 498-499; 418
NW2d 381 (1988),

In determining standards of conduct in the area of negligence, the courts
have made a distinction between misfeasance, or active misconduct causing
personal injury, and nonfeasance, which is passive inaction or the failure to
actively protect others from harm. The common law has been slow in recognizing
liability for nonfeasance because the courts are reluctant to force persons to help
one another and because such conduct does not create a new risk of harm to a
potential plaintiff. Thus, as a general rule, there is no duty that obligates one
person to aid or protect another.

Social policy, however, has led the courts to recognize an exception to this
general rule where a special relationship exists between a plaintiff and a
defendant. . . . The rationale behind imposing a duty to protect in these special
relationships is based on control. In each situation one person entrusts himself to
the control and protection of another, with a consequent loss of control to protect
himself. The duty to protect is imposed upon the person in control because he is
best able to provide a place of safety. [Footnotes omitted.]

See also Ross v Glaser, 220 Mich App 183, 186-187; 559 NW2d 331 (1996); Restatement of
Torts 2d, § 315, p 122.

"Such a special relationship must be sufficiently strong to require a defendant to take
action to benefit the injured party." Murdock, supra at 54. Examples of the requisite "special
relationship" recognized under Michigan law include a common carrier that may be obligated to
protect its passengers, an innkeeper his guests, an employer his employees, owners and occupiers
of land their invitees, a doctor his patient, and business invitors or merchants their business invitees. Id.; Buczkowski, supra at 103-104; Krass, supra at 670-671; Marcelletti, supra at 664;
Bell & Hudson, PC v Buhl Realty Co, 185 Mich App 714, 718; 462 NW2d 851 (1990); Moore v
St. Joseph Nursing Home, Inc, 184 Mich App 766, 768; 459 NW2d 100 (1990). In this context,
our courts have established a duty of reasonable care toward only those parties who are "‘readily
identifiable as [being] foreseeably endangered.'" Mason, supra at 398, quoting Murdock, supra
at 58. See also Jenks v Brown, 219 Mich App 415, 421; 557 NW2d 114 (1996); Marcelletti,
supra at 665. As the Mason Court noted, supra at 398, "‘Readily' is defined as ‘promptly;
quickly; easily.'"

In its most recent pronouncement in this regard, our Supreme Court, in MacDonald v
PKT, Inc, 464 Mich 322; 628 NW2d 33 (2001), revisited the issue of a merchant's duty to
protect business invitees from the criminal acts of third parties and substantially narrowed the
scope of the duty owed by the premises owner to his invitee. The plaintiff in MacDonald
brought an action against the defendant PKT, Inc. (Pine Knob) for injuries suffered while
attending a concert at the defendant's theater as a result of sod throwing by other concertgoers.
She alleged that the defendant was negligent in failing to provide proper security, failing to stop
the performance when it should have known that continuing the performance would incite the
crowd, failing to screen the crowd to eliminate intoxicated individuals, and by selling alcoholic
beverages. The Court held that merchants have a duty to respond reasonably to situations
occurring on their premises that pose a risk of imminent and foreseeable harm to identifiable
invitees; however, the duty to respond is limited to reasonably expediting the involvement of the
police, and there is no duty to otherwise anticipate and prevent the criminal acts of third parties.
The Court stated in pertinent part:

To summarize, under Mason [v Royal Dequindre, Inc, supra], generally
merchants "have a duty to use reasonable care to protect their identifiable
invitees from the foreseeable criminal acts of third parties." Id. at 405. The duty
is triggered by specific acts occurring on the premises that pose a risk of
imminent and foreseeable harm to an identifiable invitee. Whether an invitee is
readily identifiable as being foreseeably endangered is a question for the
factfinder if reasonable minds could differ on this point. See id. at 404-405.
While a merchant is required to take reasonable measures in response to an
ongoing situation that is taking place on the premises, there is no obligation to
otherwise anticipate the criminal acts of third parties. Consistent with Williams
[v Cunningham, supra], a merchant is not obligated to do anything more than
reasonably expedite the involvement of the police. We also reaffirm that a
merchant is not required to provide security guards or otherwise resort to self-help
in order to deter or quell such occurrences. Williams, supra. [MacDonald, supra
at 338 (emphasis added).]

The MacDonald Court, id. at 334, n 10, expressly overruled that portion of Mason which
indicated that a merchant has a duty to take precautions against the criminal conduct of third
persons that may be reasonably anticipated, explaining:

[A] merchant has no obligation generally to anticipate and prevent
criminal acts against its invitees. . . . we have never recognized as "foreseeable"
a criminal act that did not . . . arise from a situation occurring on the premises
under circumstances that would cause a person to recognize a risk of imminent and foreseeable harm to an identifiable invitee. Consequently, a merchant's only
duty is to respond reasonably to such a situation. To hold otherwise would mean
that merchants have an obligation to provide what amounts to police protection . .
.

A premises owner's duty is limited to responding reasonably to situations
occurring on the premises because, as a matter of public policy, we should not
expect invitors to assume that others will disobey the law. A merchant can
assume that patrons will obey the criminal law. See People v Stone, 463 Mich
558, 565; 621 NW2d 702 (2001), citing Prosser & Keeton, Torts (5th ed), § 33, p
201; Robinson v Detroit, 462 Mich 439, 457; 613 NW2d 307 (2000); Buczowski v
McKay, 441 Mich 96, 108, n 16; 490 NW2d 330 (1992); Placek v Sterling Hts,
405 Mich 638, 673, n 18; 275 NW2d 511 (1979). This assumption should
continue until a specific situation occurs on the premises that would cause a
reasonable person to recognize a risk of imminent harm to an identifiable invitee.
It is only a present situation on the premises, not any past incidents, that creates a
duty to respond.

Subjecting a merchant to liability solely on the basis of a foreseeability
analysis is misbegotten. Because criminal activity is irrational and unpredictable,
it is in this sense invariably foreseeable everywhere. However, even police, who
are specially trained and equipped to anticipate and deal with crime, are
unfortunately unable universally to prevent it. This is a testament to the arbitrary
nature of crime. Given these realities, it is unjustifiable to make merchants, who
not only have much less experience than the police in dealing with criminal
activity but are also without a community deputation to do so, effectively
vicariously liable for the criminal acts of third parties. [Id. at 335 (emphasis in
original and added).]

MacDonald confirms the long-established rule that there is no general duty to anticipate
and prevent criminal activity even where, unlike the present case, there have been prior incidents
and the site of the injury is a business premises. Any duty is limited to reasonably responding to
situations occurring on the premises that pose a risk of imminent and foreseeable harm to
identifiable invitees, and the duty to respond is limited to contacting the police.

Logic compels the conclusion that defendants in this case had no duty to anticipate and
prevent the act of murder committed by Schmitz three days after leaving defendants' studio and
hundreds of miles away. Here, the only special relationship, if any, that ever existed between
defendants and plaintiffs' decedent, or between defendants and Schmitz, was that of business
invitor to invitee. However, any duty ends when the relationship ends, MacDonald, supra;
Murdock, supra at 54-55; Williams, supra; Restatement of Torts 2d, § 314A, comment c, p 119,
and in this instance the invitor/invitee relationship ended on March 6, 1995, three days before the
murder, when Schmitz and Amedure peacefully left the Chicago studio following the taping of
the episode. Because the evidence, even when viewed from a perspective most favorable to
plaintiffs, revealed no ongoing special relationship at the time of the murder,3 defendants owed no duty to protect plaintiffs' decedent from Schmitz' violent attack on March 9, 1995. The
present situation simply cannot, under any reasonable interpretation of the circumstances, be
construed as involving an existing special relationship that required defendants to respond to a
risk of imminent and foreseeable harm to an identifiable invitee on the premises. MacDonald,
supra. Consequently, the trial court erred as a matter of law in denying defendants' motions for
summary disposition, directed verdict, and judgment notwithstanding the verdict based on lack
of duty, an essential element of any negligence action. Maiden, supra; Buczkowski, supra.

Plaintiffs seek to characterize the case as one involving misfeasance, alleging that it was
reasonably foreseeable that defendants' conduct in creating and taping an episode on the topic of
same-sex crushes and actively creating a volatile situation would cause Schmitz to murder
Amedure. A duty may be imposed in cases of alleged misfeasance where, notwithstanding the
general rule that criminal conduct is unforeseeable as a matter of law, the third party's criminal
conduct is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant's actions under the particular
circumstances of the case. See, generally, Willliams, supra at 498; Ross, supra at 187;
Restatement of Torts 2d, §§ 302B, p 88, 314, p 118. However, here, we agree with defendants
that such a rationale is wholly unavailing. As previously noted, "[c]riminal activity, by its
deviant nature, is normally unforeseeable," Papadimas, supra at 46-47, and thus "[u]nder all
ordinary and normal circumstances, in the absence of any reason to expect the contrary, the actor
may reasonably proceed upon the assumption that others will obey the criminal law." Id. This
case presents no exceptional circumstances warranting departure from that general rule because
the evidence at trial disclosed no "reason to expect the contrary" here. Schmitz gave every
appearance of being a normal, well-adjusted adult who consented to being surprised on the show
by a secret admirer of unknown sex and identity. The evidence of record indicates that nothing
in Schmitz' demeanor, or in any of his interactions with the show, put defendants on notice that
he posed a risk of violence to others.4 Reasonable foreseeability is a necessary prerequisite to any finding of a duty under Michigan law. Buczkowski, supra; cf. Groncki v Detroit Edison Co,
453 Mich 644, 657; 557 NW2d 289 (1996) (opinion by Brickley, C.J.). Viewed from a
perspective most favorable to plaintiffs, the evidence failed to establish a jury question on
whether it was reasonably foreseeable that Schmitz would murder Amedure as the natural and
probable result of the events on the show. Accordingly, the trial court should have ruled that the
murder was not foreseeable as a matter of law and entered judgment in favor of defendants. See
Buczkowski, supra at 108, n 16 (emphasizing that because there was no evidence of actual notice
of "abnormal behavior," the "retailer [who sold ammunition to an allegedly intoxicated person]
was entitled to proceed on the assumption that the purchaser would obey the criminal law"), and
Johnson v Detroit, 457 Mich 695, 712; 579 NW2d 895 (1998)(opinion by Mallett, C.J.)
("defendants could not have suspected that the decedent [who committed suicide in a holding
cell by using exposed overhead bars that had been covered with mesh that was torn away and
had not been repaired despite police knowledge of the problem] was suicidal. Consequently,
there was no duty to prevent this unforeseeable death."). To impose a duty based on a
misfeasance theory under the circumstances at hand would expand the concept of duty to
limitless proportions.

III.

Finally, to the extent the torts of misrepresentation and intentional infliction of emotional
distress were either pleaded as alternative theories of recovery or incorporated into the cause of
action, over defendants' objection, by the trial court's jury instructions, we conclude that such
claims must fail as a matter of law. Amedure's estate cannot recover under the separate tort of
intentional misrepresentation, based on defendants' alleged statements to Schmitz, a third party.
Hi-Way Motor Co v International Harvester Co, 398 Mich 330, 336; 247 NW2d 813 (1976).5
The elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress are similarly lacking. See Roberts v
Auto-Owners Ins Co, 422 Mich 594, 602; 374 NW2d 905 (1985). The mental distress that is the
subject of this case was allegedly inflicted on Schmitz, a nonparty to this appeal, not on
plaintiffs' decedent. Therefore, this count could not be sustained as a matter of law.

* * *

Click the case caption above for the full text of the Court's opinion.

In sum, we conclude that defendants owed no duty as a matter of law to protect plaintiffs’
decedent from the intentional criminal acts of a third party, Jonathan Schmitz, that occurred three
days after the taping of the Jenny Jones Show. While defendants’ actions in creating and
producing this episode of the show may be regarded by many as the epitome of bad taste and
sensationalism, such actions are, under the circumstances, insufficient to impute the requisite
relationship between the parties that would give rise to a legally cognizable duty. The trial court
therefore erred in denying defendants’ motions in this regard. Because we find no antecedent
duty, we need not address the other issues raised by defendants on appeal. Accordingly, we
reverse, vacate the judgment, and remand to the trial court with directions that it enter judgment
in favor of defendants.

Vicki Abpt, Jamie Huysman, Bernard Carroll, Warner Spitz, Thomas Gautieri

Parke Dietz and Thomas Gauthiel

Reported by Kent Morlan