Fisher v. Fisher (2025) 118 Cal.App.5th 899
In a wrongful death action among four brothers, plaintiff (brother Todd) alleged that brothers Brittin and Kent made a false police report concerning the death of the brothers’ mother and that this conduct caused their brother Wade to suffer severe emotional distress, relapse into alcoholism, and die after crashing a motorcycle he was driving while intoxicated. The jury found Brittin and Kent liable for causing Todd severe emotional distress and awarded Todd damages for his own emotional distress and loss of Wade’s companionship, as well as punitive damages. Brittin and Kent appealed, claiming that their tortious conduct was not the legal cause of Wade’s relapse, drunk driving, and death.
The Court of Appeal affirmed. The court concluded “that Wade’s relapse and death were within the scope of defendants’ liability for wrongful death based on the IIED [intentional infliction of emotional distress] claim.” Under the broader liability standard for intentional torts in sections 33 and 46 of the Restatement of Torts, Brittin and Kent could be found liable for causing emotional distress by subjecting Wade to an unfounded law enforcement inquiry over the reported disappearance of the brothers’ deceased mother when Brittin and Kent were aware that Wade was a recovering alcoholic. Under the egg-shell plaintiff rule, the court further concluded it was reasonable for the jury to find Wade’s alcoholism was a preexisting condition that made him unusually susceptible to harm from emotional distress.
