Get ready to delve into the intense world of emotional distress torts with the latest "Study for the Bar in Your Car" podcast! In Episode 10, your AI hosts, Claude and Ma, drawing from Angela's meticulously compiled law school notes, take a deep dive into Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (IIED). This is a critical area for bar exam success, focusing on the most egregious forms of conduct that cause profound emotional harm.

We break down the four essential elements a plaintiff must prove for an IIED claim:

• Extreme and Outrageous Conduct: This isn't about mere rudeness; it's behavior that "transcends all bounds of decency," so appalling it's "completely intolerable in a civilized society". We discuss examples like relentless bill collection harassment, racial insults, or falsely telling someone a loved one has died. The standard is objective: what an "average person in the community" would find outrageous.
• Intent or Recklessness: The defendant must have acted with the specific purpose of causing severe emotional distress, or with "substantial certainty" that it would occur. Recklessness, a "gross deviation from the standard of care," means a conscious disregard of a "high probability or substantial risk" of distress.
• Causation: A direct link must exist between the defendant's outrageous conduct and the plaintiff's distress.
• Severe Emotional Distress: The distress must be genuinely debilitating, of a "magnitude with which a reasonable person of ordinary fortitude could not cope". Proof often requires significant psychological harm, diagnoses like PTSD, or evidence of inability to function normally. We also touch on strict rules for bystander recovery in IIED cases.

This episode brings IIED to life through high-profile, real-world cases:

• The Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni lawsuit related to the "It Ends With Us" film. We explore how allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation can lead to emotional distress claims, and the strategic legal maneuver of reframing standalone IIED claims as part of other torts to seek "massive additional compensatory damages".
• The infamous Bollea v. Gawker case (Hulk Hogan). This landmark case revolved around the publication of private, intimate material, which Bollea's team argued was "so invasive, so sensationalistic, and so lacking in legitimate public concern that it crossed way over the line into extreme and outrageous conduct". We examine the procedural battles, including attempts to seek punitive damages. While the provided notes focus on procedural aspects, it's widely known that the jury ultimately sided with Bollea, awarding a massive verdict that included punitive damages, leading to Gawker Media's bankruptcy.

This episode offers critical insights into proving IIED claims, the strategic considerations in litigation, and the powerful interplay between tort law and fundamental constitutional rights. Subscribe to the "Study for the Bar in Your Car" podcast today and accelerate your legal knowledge!