In Molien v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals (1980) 27 Cal.3d 916, it was held (five-two) that one's negligent infliction of emotional distress could be actionable when the plaintiff suffered emotional distress but suffered neither physical injury nor physical impact. There, plaintiff's wife had negligently been misinformed that she had syphilis. She was told to tell her husband, plaintiff, which she did. Plaintiff was tested, with a negative finding, and was treated. The marriage deteriorated and the plaintiff was divorced. In discussing plaintiff's right of recovery, the Supreme Court distinguished Dillon v. Legg (1968) by pointing out that Mr. Molien was a direct victim of the assertedly negligent act. The three guidelines of Dillon, said the court, need not literally be met because, as Dillon also held, foreseeability "must necessarily be adjudicated only on a case by case basis" and the obligation hinging on foreseeability is not subject to an immutable rule which establishes the extent of that obligation for every circumstance in the future. (Cf. Dillon, supra, 68 Cal.2d at p. 740.) The tortious conduct of the defendant, said the court in Molien, was directed at the plaintiff as well as his wife.