NCJ Number
151806
Journal
Law Reporter Volume: 37 Issue: 8 Dated: (October 1994) Pages: 292-299
Date Published
1994
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A case is reported in which a stepfather sexually abused his stepdaughter throughout her childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood, causing her severe emotional trauma which resulted in an uncontrollable impulse to commit suicide.
Abstract
The complaint was brought against the stepfather by the plaintiff who said the decedent was his wife and mother of their minor daughter. The plaintiff sued the defendant for wrongful death due to the defendant's negligent and intentional acts. The judge in the case ruled that the stepfather was liable for the stepdaughter's suicide, since the extreme mental suffering he caused her was a substantial contributing factor in her self-destruction. The case demonstrated that an impulse does not need to be sudden in order to be characterized as irresistible or uncontrollable. In another case, the plaintiff was engaged to and cohabitating with the decedent, her live-in fiance. The plaintiff witnessed the defendant negligently operate a vehicle which struck her fiance's body and dragged it 240 feet. The court held that since the plaintiff shared an intimate familial relationship with the decedent, she qualified for protection of bystander liability for negligent infliction of emotional distress. In still another case, a patron of the defendant's bar was attacked by three other men and the defendant's bouncer ejected the assailants. The bouncer also made the plaintiff leave, knowing that he was weak and ready to pass out and knowing that the assailants were waiting for him outside. The judge ruled that the defendant was liable for off-premise injuries inflicted on the plaintiff by waiting attackers. Tort aspects of all the cases are discussed, as well as the rationale for case decisions.