TORTS
8.31.09
Compensation for Emotional Distress
 Key concerns
o Genuineness of the claim
o Scope of liability
 Compensation
o Parasitic element to a physical injury
o Non-physical torts
o Independent tort actions
 Tort of outrage
 Negligent infliction of emotional distress
Determination of Outrageousness
o It is for the court to determine
o “In the first instance”
o Law
o The court needs to determine the facts from the complaint
 If attorney does not present proper facts to the courts, then the
case will be dismissed
o Then if the court decides that the case is not justified or presentable to
a jury, the case will be dismissed/ruled upon and then sent to appeals
accordingly
o Threshold determination
Carriers, Innkeepers, and Utilities
o Non-Competitive Rule
o Captive Audience
o The supermarket availability
 One can always go to another store if the service is not up to
par in regards to service
Illinois not have a cause of action in supporting:
o Assault
o Battery
o Intentional Infliction of emotional distress
Feltmeir v. Feltmeir
Illinois 2003
Issue:
 Did the  committed a continuing tort in his charges of intentional infliction
of emotional distress?
PH:


Circuit court denied defendant’s motions to dismiss and certified three
question so flaw for appellate review
The [intermediate] appellate court conclude that Lynn, as plaintiff, could
“maintain an action at law to recover monetary damages…”
Statute:
 Continuing Tort
o Where a tort involves a continuing or repeated injury, the limitations
period does not begin to run until the date of the last injury or the
date the tortuous acts cease
o pg.88
Facts:
 From 1986 at the contract of their marriage to the dissolution at 1997 the 
had repeatedly demeaned and physically abused the .
o “Robert entered into a continuous and outrageous course of conduct
toward Lynn”
o ”…battering of Lynn by striking, kicking, shoving, pulling hair and
bend and twisting of her limbs and toes”
o dozens of episodes
 Statute of Limitations (typically 2 years)
o  trying to reach back 11 years
o How do we determine the length/duration of the statute of
limitations?
 Crime v. Tort
o The courts believe that the actions are extreme enough to be
actionable
o If it’s a crime against society, then it’s only reasonable to extend the
tort to an actionable position that applies to cases of intentional
infliction of emotional distress
 It does not throw open the doors to permit filing actions at any
time.
 Where does the proof of tort come from?
’s rebuttal
 “Lynn’s complain do not sufficiently set forth conduct which was extreme
and outrageous when considered “in the context of the subjective and
fluctuating nature of marital relationship.””
o Pickering v. Pickering
o Hakkila v. Hakkila
 The court of appeals of new Mexico found that a husband’s
insults and occasional violent outburst over the course of the
parties’ 10-year marriage were insufficiently outrageous to

establish liablility for intentional infliction of emotional
distress.”
Villasenor v. Villasenor
Holding:
 While we agree that special caution is required in dealing with actions for
intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from conduct occurring
within the marital setting, our examination of both the law...and the most
commonly raised policy concerns leads us to conclude that no valid reason
exists to restrict such actions or to require a heightened threshold for
outrageousness in this context.
o Henriksen v. Cameron (Me.1993)
o Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986
 “The laws of this state provide no compensatory relief for injuries sustained.
An action for dissolution of marriage also provides no compensatory relief
for domestic abuse.”
Reasoning:
 Since the event/events were repetitious and, in the ’s point of view,
assumedly in a reasonable state of mind, a “continuing tort does not involve
tolling the statue of limitations because of delayed or continuing injuries but
instead involves viewing the defendant’s conduct as a continuous who for
prescriptive purposes.”
RULE
 The appellate court’s judgment is…affirmed