ABSTRACT
Louisiana’s tort law reflects the State’s unique status as a mixed jurisdiction that blends civil law and common law traditions. The doctrine of jurisprudence constante, whereunder the consistently repeated judicial interpretation of primary law becomes authoritative and binding on the judiciary, does not transform those interpretations into primary law. Problems arise when Louisiana statutes and the Civil Code don’t directly address a particular legal issue.
One area of negligence law that presents difficulties in many jurisdictions – civil, common, or mixed – is the negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED). In Louisiana, only two Civil Code articles from the Code of 1825 apply to NIED: article 2315, the general ‘fault’ article, and article 2316, the original negligence article. The Louisiana Supreme Court has applied these Code articles to NIED cases in several ways. This article examines several NIED cases decided by the Louisiana Supreme Court and suggest two solutions to resolve the difference in the Court’s approach to these cases.
Viator, James Etienne and Rector, Aubrey, Limiting Liability for Negligently Inflicted Emotional Distress Absent Physical Harm in Louisiana: Moresi Revisited and Misapplied in Spencer v Valero (August 1, 2025), Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Research Paper No 2025-10; 85 Louisiana Law Review 1367 (2025).
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