Recap Thanks to you all for braving the greenhouse conditions in our classroom today. The first significant one is the need to show the severity of the plaintiff s distress.
Some jurisdictions even require physical manifestations of distress.
Courts ordinarily justify the severity requirement as necessary to reduce the danger of false claims. The second significant barrier is the standard for proving outrageousness. In my view, Agis represents an uncharacteristically lenient application of the outrageousness standard. Courts applying this standard typically assert that it is a rough world out there and people must expect to shrug off all but the most outrageous conduct. Their obvious fear is that plaintiffs will descend a slippery slope to litigating trivial insults or any conduct that causes them discomfort.