Court Opinion

ID: 9574065
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 21:02:02.578799+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:44:00.678420
License: Public Domain

Judge EAGLES
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. The majority opinion here is based on the premise that because the majority in Ruark chose not to set out specific limits on foreseeability, we should infer that the Court intended no further limitation. I think this position is flawed. Ruark was not a case whose facts raised a question about the limits of the proximity requirement. Ruark involved the parent/child relationship and parents who were in close proximity to and observed many of the events surrounding the death of the fetus and the stillbirth.
Here, plaintiff did not observe the negligent act of defendant and was not in close proximity to the negligent act. She was in fact several miles away when the accident occurred. Although Ruark does not specifically set limits on proximity, nothing in the Supreme *640Court’s opinion prevents this Court from announcing a limit when facts are presented which raise the question. Gardner v. Gardner is such a case. Plaintiff has failed to establish sufficient proximity to satisfy the foreseeability requirements of Ruark, and I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.