David Newton Eagleson (October 4, 1924 – May 23, 2003) was an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1987 to 1991.
[3] In December 1970, Governor Ronald Reagan appointed Eagleson to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where from 1980 to 1981 he served as presiding judge.
[3][8] In November 1981, Governor George Deukmejian named Eagleson as an associate justice to the Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Five.
Among Eagleson's notable opinions is Thing v. La Chusa (1989),[12] which sharply limited the availability of the cause of action for negligent infliction of emotional distress in California.
[14] Beth, in her eulogy for her father delivered before the court on which he once served, cited Thing as the opinion most representative of her father's voice and philosophy: When I read Thing v. LaChusa, I recognized not only Dad’s life philosophy, but I heard his voice .