Opinion
No. 97-431-Appeal.
December 21, 1998
Appeal from Kent County, Silverstein, J.
Gregory S. Inman, for the plaintiff.
Brandon S. Bell, Mark B. Morse, for the defendant.
ORDER
This case came before the Court on December 7, 1998. The defendant Marco Martino (Martino) appeals from a damage award in favor of the plaintiff, Linda Flanagan DiChristofaro (DiChristofaro) of $20,400, plus interest and costs, after a nonjury trial in the Superior Court.
In September 1991, Martino was tried and convicted of first and second degree sexual assault. A civil judgment was entered, pursuant to G.L. 1956 § 12-28-5, by the trial court against the defendant conclusively establishing his liability, to the victim.
On April 30, 1992, DiChristofaro, the victim, filed a civil complaint against Martino, relying on the same facts that formed the basis of his earlier conviction for first and second degree sexual assault. Because Martino had already been convicted, the hearing on DiChristofaro's complaint was limited to the question of damages. That hearing took place in December 1995 before a trial justice sitting without a jury.
At the hearing, affidavits from the Rape Crisis Center were entered into evidence. Additionally, testimony was taken from both DiChristofaro and her father about the resulting effects of the sexual assault on her, including changes in her behavior and personality. Based upon that evidence, the trial justice awarded DiChristofaro $20,400 in damages plus statutory interest and costs. Martino appeals from that judgment.
Martino alleges here on appeal that there was no factual basis for the award of damages in the amount of $20,400. We disagree.
As an initial matter, we must emphasize that factual findings made by a trial justice sitting without a jury are entitled to great deference and can only be reversed if we conclude that the trial justice misconceived or overlooked material trial evidence or was otherwise clearly wrong. Bielecki v. Boissel, 715 A.2d 571, 575 (R.I. 1998). See also Rowland Family Trust v. Pelletier, 673 A.2d 1081, 1083 (R.I. 1996). Furthermore, with respect to an award of a specific amount for damages, we concluded in Trainor v. Town of North Kingstown, 625 A.2d 1349 (R.I. 1993) that "no mathematical formula exists for awarding plaintiff damages for his or her pain and suffering, which is in the nature of compensatory damages." Id. at 1350.
Looking at the evidence before the trial justice, we cannot say that he misconceived or overlooked material evidence or was otherwise clearly wrong. Martino's behavior which formed the basis for his conviction caused DiChristofaro pain and suffering for which she was entitled to be compensated. The trial justice considered that evidence and arrived at what he believed to be an adequate and fair amount of damages. We see no reason to disturb that finding.
As for the propriety of admitting into evidence the affidavits from the Rape Crisis Center, we also determine no error. Those affidavits were admitted for the purpose of showing a causal relationship between the acts of Martino and the resulting change in behavior of DiChristofaro. Even assuming that admission of the affidavits was error on the part of the trial justice, such error would have been simply harmless error in light of the testimony of DiChristofaro and her father and the conviction of Martino.
Accordingly, for all the foregoing reasons, the appeal is denied and dismissed. The judgment appealed from is affirmed. The papers in this case are remanded to the Superior Court.