Safari

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Bita Safari appeals from a judgment entered against her after the trial court granted a motion for summary judgment brought by Defendants Philip Fusco, Shokoufeh Fusco, Ital Pizza II, LLC, Ital Pizza, Inc., and Spectrum Restaurant Management Group, LLC (collectively, Defendants). Safari and Simply Crystal Clean, LLC (Simply Crystal)1 asserted three causes of action in their complaint: (1) common counts, (2) breach of contract, and (3) extortion. The trial court erred by granting summary judgment against Safari on the first two causes of action: She was not a party to those causes of action, and therefore, as to her there was nothing to adjudicate. The trial court did not err by granting summary judgment against Safari on the third cause of action. Damages are an essential element of a cause of action for civil extortion. Defendants established that Safari had suffered no economic loss or loss of reputation as a result of the alleged extortion, and, we conclude, emotional distress damages are not recoverable for extortion. We therefore reverse the judgment as to the first and second causes of action and otherwise affirm the judgment.

1 We refer to Safari…