Private Law Theory

ABSTRACT
This Article tracks the history of tort recovery for emotional harm that accompanies an intentional tort to a pet. After canvassing cases at early common law, the Article documents how three iterations of the Restatement of Torts contributed to the hostility and confusion regarding such recovery. Although section 21 of the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Remedies finally clarifies the availability of damages for emotional harm in the pet context, section 21 may not help plaintiffs because it leaves the substantive law unchanged and because another, still unrevised, section of the Remedies volume appears inconsistent with section 21. Overall, this exploration suggests that the American Law Institute has not yet achieved its goals of clarity, simplicity, and/or advancing the best law. The analysis prompts a few recommendations for drafting the forthcoming sections of both the Remedies volume (ie, the section on value) and the Restatement (Fourth) of Property (ie, the sections on intentional property torts) to help the Institute achieve its goals.

Weiner, Merle Hope, The Restatement of Torts and Recovery for Loss of the Human-Pet Bond After an Intentional Tort (June 10, 2025), 55 University of Memphis Law Review 525 (2025).