## Facts

- Betty Saint Rogers’s son died in 2001 and was buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Cleveland, Tennessee.
- Ms. Rogers bought easements for two adjacent burial plots from Louisville Land Company, which owned a portion of the cemetery; she was told the cemetery was regularly mowed and maintained.
- Ms. Rogers later observed poor conditions, including overgrown grass, overturned headstones, debris, and deteriorated roads.
- She testified that visiting the cemetery made her very emotional and tearful.
- In 2004, Ms. Rogers sued Louisville Land Company and its sole shareholder, Joe V. Williams III, alleging, among other claims, intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), fraud, breach of contract, statutory violations related to cemetery maintenance, and Tennessee Consumer Protection Act violations.
- The case initially proceeded as a putative class action but went to trial only on Ms. Rogers’s individual claims.

## Issues

1. Whether Ms. Rogers presented sufficient evidence of a “serious mental injury” to support an IIED judgment and resulting compensatory and punitive damages.
2. Whether Ms. Rogers was entitled to attorney’s fees under Tennessee statutes concerning cemetery trust funds.
3. Whether the evidence justified piercing the corporate veil to hold Williams personally liable for the corporation’s acts.

## Decision

- The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals.
- The Court held Ms. Rogers failed to prove “serious mental injury,” so the IIED-based compensatory and punitive damages could not stand.
- The Court affirmed denial of attorney’s fees because the cited cemetery trust-fund fee provision did not apply to her posture and claims in this litigation.
- The Court held veil-piercing was not supported by the evidence and Williams was not personally liable.

## Legal Principles

- IIED requires proof that: (1) the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly, (2) the conduct was so outrageous as to be intolerable in a civilized society, and (3) the conduct caused the plaintiff a serious mental injury.
- “Serious mental injury” is a distinct element requiring evidence beyond transient emotional upset; courts consider indicia such as treatment, diagnosis, functional impairment, symptom duration and intensity, and related objective manifestations.
- Attorney’s fees are recoverable only when authorized by applicable statute; fee provisions tied to cemetery trust-fund enforcement do not apply absent a qualifying statutory posture and claim theory.
- Piercing the corporate veil requires proof that the corporation was used to defeat public convenience, justify wrong, protect fraud, or work injustice; absent evidence of sham operation or comparable misuse, shareholder limited liability remains intact.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that although Ms. Rogers experienced genuine distress from neglect of the cemetery, her proof did not satisfy Tennessee’s requirement of a serious mental injury for IIED, and it also rejected fee-shifting and shareholder personal liability due to lack of statutory and evidentiary support.


Rogers v. Louisville Land Co., 367 S.W.3d 196 (Tenn. 2012)