Fluharty

This case involves civil liability for grisly family violence. An abusive father shot his wife in the face, then telephoned his adult son, who lived nearby, and told him he had murdered his mother and was about to shoot himself. When the son, accompanied by his pregnant wife, arrived a few minutes later, the father had his shotgun pointed at his head and insisted on committing suicide. The son wrestled with him for control of the shotgun. His wife sustained minor injuries when the shotgun fired. The father survived and was convicted of murder. Not surprisingly, the son suffers severe posttraumatic stress disorder. He sued his father on a variety of legal theories, all of which were ultimately rejected by the trial court.

Lamenting “the relentless march of logic,” while touting the ennobling virtue of “experience,” (maj. opn., ante, at p. 488) the majority denies plaintiff all relief, reasoning that “[h]eartache and emotional pain are an inherent staple of the parent-child relationship.” [Id. at p. 495.) Because I find little in the rules of logic or the lessons of human experience to support the majority’s views, I respectfully dissent.

The majority discerns that duty is “the…

"The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience." (Holmes, The Common Law (1881) p. 1.) There are occasions in the course of judicial decisionmaking when it becomes necessary to stand athwart the relentless march of logic and shout, "Enough already!!" The decision in this case, in which plaintiff seeks to recover from his father for emotional distress allegedly occasioned by his father's attempted suicide, is one of those occasions.

Plaintiff initiated this action against his father (defendant), to recover for emotional distress negligently inflicted by defendant who, immediately after he had murdered his wife (plaintiff's mother), notified plaintiff of what he had done, advised plaintiff that he intended to take his own life and, when plaintiff appeared on the scene, attempted suicide in the presence of plaintiff, who successfully intervened. Following a number of pretrial rulings narrowing plaintiff's claims, the court conducted a bench trial and entered judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appeals. We shall affirm.

On the evening of July 14, 1992, defendant killed his wife. He then telephoned plaintiff and declared: "`I just blew your…

“The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.” (Holmes, The Common Law (1881) p. 1.) There are occasions in the course of judicial decisionmaking when it becomes necessary to stand athwart the relentless march of logic and shout, “Enough already!!” The decision in this case, in which plaintiff seeks to recover from his father for emotional distress allegedly occasioned by his father’s attempted suicide, is one of those occasions.

Plaintiff initiated this action against his father (defendant), to recover for emotional distress negligently inflicted by defendant who, immediately after he had murdered his wife (plaintiff’s mother), notified plaintiff of what he had done, advised plaintiff that he intended to take his own life and, when plaintiff appeared on the scene, attempted suicide in the presence of plaintiff, who successfully intervened. Following a number of pretrial rulings narrowing plaintiff’s claims, the court conducted a bench trial and entered judgment for defendant. Plaintiff appeals. We shall affirm.

I

On the evening of July 14, 1992, defendant killed his wife. He then telephoned plaintiff and declared: “ T just blew your mother’s head…