De Angelis v. Lutheran Medical Center
| Court | New York Court of Appeals |
| Writing for the Court | COOKE |
| Citation | 58 N.Y.2d 1053,462 N.Y.S.2d 626 |
| Parties | , 449 N.E.2d 406 Barbara DE ANGELIS, Individually and as Natural Guardian of Deirdre De Angelis and Others, Infants, Appellant, v. LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER et al., Respondents, et al., Defendants. M. Philip AMODEO, as Administrator of the Estate of Yves Le Henaff, Deceased, et al., Appellants, v. Thomas N. PRECIOUS et al., Respondents. |
| Decision Date | 29 March 1983 |
Page 626
Deirdre De Angelis and Others, Infants, Appellant,
v.
LUTHERAN MEDICAL CENTER et al., Respondents, et al., Defendants.
M. Philip AMODEO, as Administrator of the Estate of Yves Le
Henaff, Deceased, et al., Appellants,
v.
Thomas N. PRECIOUS et al., Respondents.
Page 627
Keith V. La Rose, Poughkeepsie, William J. Stutman, New York City, and Donald D. Brown, Jr., Poughkeepsie, for appellants.
Roger P. McTiernan, New York City, Frank E. Maher, Brooklyn, and Katherine Hargas, New York City, for Lutheran Medical Center and another, respondents.
B. Jennifer Jaffee and Steven B. Prystowsky, New York City, for Thomas N. Precious and others, respondents.
MEMORANDUM.
The order of the Appellate Division, 84 A.D.2d 17, 445 N.Y.S.2d 188, in each of these appeals should be affirmed, with costs.
In each case, a child seeks recovery in a derivative action for loss of consortium against an alleged tort-feasor who inflicted disabling injuries on one of the child's parents. Such actions, however real the loss incurred, were not recognized at common law and we find no reason to recognize such a right now. In particular, the existence of the right of a husband or wife, in view of the nature of the marital relation, to bring an action derived from injuries to his or her spouse, to whatever extent it may be said to be analogous, does not warrant extending this right to a child and certainly not on the equal protection grounds asserted by the appellants.
Duty is essentially a legal term by which we express our conclusion that there can be liability (see, generally, Green, The Duty Problem in Negligence Cases, 28 Col.L.Rev. 1014). It tells us whether the risk to which one person exposes another is within the protection of the law. In fixing the bounds of that duty, not only logic and science, but policy play an important role (Becker v. Schwartz, 46 N.Y.2d 401, 408, 413 N.Y.S.2d 895, 386 N.E.2d 807; Ventricelli v. Kinney System Rent A Car, 45 N.Y.2d 950, 411 N.Y.S.2d 555, 383 N.E.2d 1149; Pagan v. Goldberger, 51 A.D.2d 508, 510, 382 N.Y.S.2d 549; Ortiz v. Kinoshita & Co., 30 A.D.2d 334, 336-337, 292 N.Y.S.2d 48; Prosser, Torts [4th ed], § 42, pp. 244-249).
A line must be drawn between the competing policy considerations of providing a remedy to everyone who is injured and of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Stagl v. Delta Airlines, Inc., No. 423
...Servs. Corp., 83 N.Y.2d 579, 585, 611 N.Y.S.2d 817, 820, 634 N.E.2d 189, 192 (1994); see also De Angelis v. Lutheran Medical Center, 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 627-28, 449 N.E.2d 406, 407-08 (1983), we also note that New York courts do not exercise this authority on an ad hoc T......
-
Landon v. Kroll Lab. Specialists, Inc.
...“Duty is essentially a legal term by which we express our conclusion that there can be liability” ( De Angelis v. Lutheran Med. Ctr., 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 449 N.E.2d 406). Obligations that flow exclusively from a contract must be enforced as contractual duties under a the......
-
Strauss v. Belle Realty Co.
...In fixing the bounds of that duty, not only logic and science, but policy play an important roll" (De Angelis v. Lutheran Medical Center, 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 449 N.E.2d 406; see Donohue v. Copiague Union Free School Dist., 64 A.D.2d 29, 33, 407 N.Y.S.2d 874, affd., 47 N.......
-
Charles v. Suvannavejh
...is not compensable. Devito v. Opatich, 215 A.D.2d 714, 715, 627 N.Y.S.2d 441 (2d Dep't 1995). See De Angelis v. Lutheran Med. Center, 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 449 N.E.2d 406 (1983); De'Leone v. City of New York, 45 A.D.3d 254, 255, 845 N.Y.S.2d 241 (1st Dep't 2007). Nor is lo......
-
Stagl v. Delta Airlines, Inc., No. 423
...Servs. Corp., 83 N.Y.2d 579, 585, 611 N.Y.S.2d 817, 820, 634 N.E.2d 189, 192 (1994); see also De Angelis v. Lutheran Medical Center, 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 627-28, 449 N.E.2d 406, 407-08 (1983), we also note that New York courts do not exercise this authority on an ad hoc T......
-
Landon v. Kroll Lab. Specialists, Inc.
...“Duty is essentially a legal term by which we express our conclusion that there can be liability” ( De Angelis v. Lutheran Med. Ctr., 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 449 N.E.2d 406). Obligations that flow exclusively from a contract must be enforced as contractual duties under a the......
-
Strauss v. Belle Realty Co.
...the bounds of that duty, not only logic and science, but policy play an important roll" (De Angelis v. Lutheran Medical Center, 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 449 N.E.2d 406; see Donohue v. Copiague Union Free School Dist., 64 A.D.2d 29, 33, 407 N.Y.S.2d 874, affd., 47 N.Y.2d ......
-
Charles v. Suvannavejh
...is not compensable. Devito v. Opatich, 215 A.D.2d 714, 715, 627 N.Y.S.2d 441 (2d Dep't 1995). See De Angelis v. Lutheran Med. Center, 58 N.Y.2d 1053, 1055, 462 N.Y.S.2d 626, 449 N.E.2d 406 (1983); De'Leone v. City of New York, 45 A.D.3d 254, 255, 845 N.Y.S.2d 241 (1st Dep't 2007). Nor is lo......