About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

36 Ariz. St. L.J. 805 (2004)
A Principled Solution for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress Claims

handle is hein.journals/arzjl36 and id is 815 raw text is: A PRINCIPLED SOLUTION FOR NEGLIGENT
INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS CLAIMS
Robert J. Rheet
I.  INTRODUCTION      ...................................................................................... 806
II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMMON LAW                ................................................. 813
A.  Early   Com  m on  Law  ....................................................................... 813
B.   The  Bystander   Test ......................................................................... 818
C.  Federal Common       Law  .................................................................... 823
III. PROBLEMS POSED BY MENTAL INJURIES ............................................... 831
A. Floodgates of Fraud and Frivolity ................................................. 831
B. Limits of Infinite Foreseeability ..................................................... 836
C. Inherent Biases in Common Law Approach .................................. 842
D. Nature ofArbitrary Rules .............................................................. 845
IV . D UTY  R EDEFINED   ................................................................................. 847
A.   The  Palsgraf Problem    ..................................................................... 847
B. Classes of Plaintiff's Interests ........................................................ 853
C. Classes of Defendant's Culpability ................................................ 862
V .  PROPOSED    STANDARD     ........................................................................... 865
A. Generally Applicable Rules ............................................................ 865
B.  Lim  itation  of  Liability  .................................................................... 868
C.  P rop ortionality  ............................................................................... 868
D. Precedent in Common Law ............................................................ 874
E .  D eterrence  ...................................................................................... 878
F.  P otential Problem     .......................................................................... 880
G .  N et Effect ........................................................................................ 881
V I. C ON CLU SION  ......................................................................................... 883
t    Associate Professor of Law, Washburn University School of Law, B.A., University of
Chicago; J.D., George Washington University; M.B.A., the Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania. I was fortunate to have served as a law clerk to Hon. Richard L. Nygaard of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The lessons learned from him form the bases for
many concepts in this article. I thank my colleague, Dean Dennis R. Honabach, and my former
law partner, Hyung S. Choi, of Choi Rhee & Fabian, for their helpful suggestions. I thank the
editorial staff for its recognition of this article as a relevant contribution to the ongoing debate
and its professionalism in the editorial process. Any remaining errors are, of course, mine. As
always, I thank my wife, Nicki, for her unconditional support.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most