Legal Question in Personal Injury in New York
Emotional Distress
Following a bad divorce,I began dating a man 11/04. He saw how my ex hurt me & promised he would never hurt me, I trusted him. We were best each other's best friend. One day we're talking about moving forward w/ our relationship days later, he breaks up w/ me stating he had unresolved issues w/ an old girlfriend he has not seen in 4 yrs & want to seek her out. 2 months later he called & said he should have never broken up w/ me & she knew he love me. We kept in contact. Then a rumor was he was getting married, I asked & he denied it. A friend told me 10/13/06 was the wedding day, we spoke several times on this day, we spoke several times while he was on his honeymoon. Unknown to me this man was married. 1 week later he asked to get back together & move forward w/ our relationship 11/04/06. 1/4/07 I located him on the computer and found out it true, he was married. I confronted him and he lied again and said ''it was a mistake, he did not want to marry her. I am so hurt, I cry all the time & unable to sleep, eat and function at work. I lost 10 pds becase of this. I fell in love w/ this man and for 3 years my life w/ wasted because of his lies/selfishness! I feel betrayed and embarassed. I am in alot of pain. What
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Emotional Distress
New York courts rarely allow intentional infliction of emotional distress cases to
proceed. Invariably they are dismissed on motion, except in certain specific types of circumstances: the "zone of danger"category where the plaintiff is standing next to a loved one who is hit by a car and thrown thirty feet and killed (for instance);the mistaken identification of a loved one's remains by a funeral home, or other agency.Generally, the courts do not wish to open a flood of new litigation that does not have a verifiable basis in fact. "Morally represhensible and outrageous onduct, beyond the bounds of
civilized behavior" is required except where the zone of danger is involved.
In that same situation described above, if the plaintiff was looking out a window across the street, the case would be dismissed, because the zone of danger means that the plaintiff shares the risk of the injury.
You might concievably have another basis on which to sue, and sometimes emotional injuries are compensible as a matter of damages, (in discrimination cases for instance)however what you describe seems to be an unfortunate case of an unprincipled scoundrel.
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