Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
"The Tort of Outrage"
Elements for IIED
1. Conduct must be intentional or reckless;
2. The conduct must be extreme and outrageous;
3. There must be a casual connection between the wrongful conduct and the emotional distress;
4. The emotional distress must be severe
Slocum v. Food Fair Stores of Florida
State Rubbish Collectos Ass'n v. Siliznoff
Taylor v. Vallelunga
- Conduct must be severe to cause mental and emotional distress
- They threatened to physically beat him up, cut up his truck tires or burn the truck, or otherwise put him out of business completely
- because of the frieght he suffered during his dispute with the association he became ill and vomittedseveral times and hade to remain away from work for a period of several days
- In many cases mental distress could be so intense that it could reasonably be forseen that illness or bodily harm might result
- If defendant intentionally subjected the plaintiff to such distress and bodily harm resulted, the defendant would be held liable for negiligently causing the plaintiffs bodily harm
- A person has the right to be free from negligent interference with physical well being
- Someone who intetionally subjects another to mental distress w/o intending to cause bodily harm would nevertheless be liable for resulting bodily harm if they should have foreseen that the mental distress might cause such harm
- Amended section 46 of the Restatment of Torts :
One who, without a privilege to do so, intentionally causes severe emotional distress to another is liable (a) for such emotional distress, and (b) for bodily harm resulting from it
- Physical injury is necessary to insure that serious mental suffering actually occured
- Conduct must be extreme, or outragous and intolerabel. It must violate generally accepted standards of decency and morality. It must be more than bad manners, and must cause severve emotional distress, not just hurt feelings.
- A party is not liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress for simple insults not intended to have real meaning or serious effect that subsequently causes another emotional distress.
- Failed to state cause of action
- Conduct must be beyond outrageous, as to be beyond social tolerance
- Mere vulgarities do not meet these standards
- A party is liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress when the act is done for the purpose of causing emotional distress or with knowledge to a substantial certainty that severe emotional distress will be produced by their conduct.
- An intention to cause severe emotional distress exists when the act is done for the purpose of causing the distress or with knowledge on the part of the actor that severe emotional distress is substantially certain to be produced by his conduct
- Offender has to intend to subject victim to some distress
- Bystander Recovery
- Bystanders can recover from incidents
Harris v. Jones
Contemporaneous Observation
- Known as Bystander Recovery
- A person can recover for damages if they are the bystander of an incident
- Offender has to know of the bystanders' presence
- The person experiencing the actual harm is a family member
- In order for a party to recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress a party must suffer a severely disabling emotional response to another’s conduct.
- In order to recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress Harris must show that he suffered a severely disabling emotional response to Jones’s conduct. While Harris was humiliated and his nervous condition may have worsened from Jones’ conduct, he did not have a severely disabling emotional response to Jones’ conduct
- Whether an actor's conduct is extreme and outrageous depends on the facts of each case, including the realtionship of the partis, whether the actors abused a position of authority over ther other person, whether the other person was especially vulnerable and the actor knew of the vulnerability, the motivatio of the actor, and whether the conduct was repeaded or prolonged
** One of the harder torts to prove. Usually coupled with another intentional tort.**
Torts Restatement 46 (2)
(2) Where such conduct is directed at a third person, the actor is subject to liability if he intentionally or recklessly causes severe emotional distress
(a) to a member of such person's immediate family who is present at the time, whether or not such distress results in bodily harm, or
(b) to any other person who is present at the time, if such distress results in bodily harm.