Dillon v. Legg

2d 728 (1968), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of California that established the tort of negligent infliction of emotional distress.

A mother, Margery M. Dillon, and her daughter Cheryl witnessed the death of her other child in a car accident caused by a negligent driver, David Luther Legg.

The court urged a case-by-case analysis of several factors to determine if foreseeability would create a duty to a bystander: Using these criteria, the court determined that it was foreseeable that the negligent operation of an automobile could cause emotional distress to a mother witnessing the injury of her child in an accident.

[4] In his dissenting opinion, Justice Traynor asserted that the case should have been decided according to the zone of danger rule enunciated in the case Amaya v. Home Ice, Fuel & Supply Co.[5] In dissent, Justice Burke asserted that the majority had adopted arguments that were previously rejected in Amaya.

Burke criticized the guidelines offered by the majority as insufficient protection against possibly limitless liability.