Phipps v. McCabe, 7439
| Decision Date | 30 July 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 7439,7439 |
| Citation | 116 N.H. 475,362 A.2d 186 |
| Parties | Aaron PHIPPS, by his mother and next friend, Lynne M. Phipps v. Ronald B. McCABE. Ralph R. PHIPPS v. Ronald B. Mc,CABE. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Coolidge, Cullinane & Cullinane, Somersworth (John F. Cullinane, Somersworth, orally), for plaintiffs.
Burns, Bryant, Hinchey, Cox & Shea and Michael F. Farrell, Dover, for defendant.
These are actions to recover for personal injuries suffered by the minor plaintiff, Aaron Phipps, allegedly arising from an automobile accident, and for consequential damages to his father. Plaintiff's exception to the trial court's granting of defendant's motion to dismiss both actions for failure to state a cause of action was reserved and transferred by Mullavey, J.
On December 31, 1975, the defendant, Ronald B. McCabe, was involved in an automobile accident in Dover, New Hampshire, with another motor vehicle in which Lynne M. Phipps, mother of the minor plaintiff, was a passenger. The plaintiffs allege that as a result of this accident, Mrs. Phipps suffered severe dizziness and fainting spells. One such spell occurred five days later at her mother's home in Somersworth, New Hampshire, as she was carrying her son down a flight of stairs. The infant fell to the ground, suffering personal injuries. The plaintiff father has incurred medical expenses for his son's treatment.
The defendant's motion to dismiss both cases was properly granted because no cause of action was stated against the defendant. The rule in this State, as in a majority of jurisdictions in this country, has long been as stated in Restatement (Second) of Torts § 281, Comment c (1965): Jelley v. LaFlame, 108 N.H. 471, 238 A.2d 728 (1968); Barber v. Pollock, 104 N.H. 379, 187 A.2d 788 (1963); Cote v. Litawa, 96 N.H. 174, 71 A.2d 792 (1950).
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Corso v. Merrill
...us to construct a legal barrier to deny liability. Id.; Barber v. Pollock, 104 N.H. 379, 187 A.2d 788 (1963); See Phipps v. McCabe, 116 N.H. 475, 362 A.2d 186 (1976); Deem v. Town of Newmarket, 115 N.H. 84, 333 A.2d 446 The majority of states allow bystander recovery for emotional distress ......
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...against the societal interests involved in order to ascertain how far defendant's duty may justly be extended. See Phipps v. McCabe (1976), 116 N.H. 475, 362 A.2d 186 (defendant's duty cannot be extended to plaintiff infant where defendant's car struck the infant's mother, and several days ......
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