06/11/14 LITWIN, ETC. VS.
WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION,
A-0186-13T1
We reverse the trial court order granting summary judgment to
defendants in connection with plaintiff's bystander liability claim under
Portee v. Jaffee, 84 N.J.88 (1980). We concluded it was not necessary for
plaintiff to have been in the house witnessing his son being engulfed in the
fire in order to maintain his Portee claim. We concluded the fire was the
injury-producing event, which plaintiff contemporaneously witnessed, having
first been trapped in the home himself and, once rescued, aware that his son
remained in the burning home.
We also concluded the motion judge failed to view the evidence
in the light most favorable to plaintiff by finding plaintiff's claimed severe
emotional distress, evidenced by the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Distress
Disorder, failed to raise a genuinely disputed issue of fact.
