Section 10 Defendant’s Knowledge of Plaintiff’s Particular Susceptibilities to Emotional Distress

• Library: Damages 2012

A defendant’s knowledge of a plaintiff’s particular susceptibility to emotional distress from conduct is a significant factor in establishing the outrageousness of the conduct. LaBrier v. Anheuser Ford, Inc., 612 S.W.2d 790, 793 (Mo. App. E.D. 1981) (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 cmt. f (1965)). In LaBrier, the court found that conduct of the defendant’s employees was sufficiently outrageous to be presented to the jury when the employees questioned the plaintiff and, in a loud and threatening voice for 25 minutes, in the presence of her neighbors, threatened to have her husband arrested, knowing of her history of severe emotional problems. Id. at 793.

Likewise, in Boes v. Deschu, 768 S.W.2d 205, 208 (Mo. App. E.D. 1989), the court held that a plaintiff who had reported a history of emotional trauma following an abortion pleaded a valid claim against a pregnancy clinic for intentional infliction of emotional distress when the clinic invited her for counseling and showed her...