Samms v. Eccles

In Samms v. Eccles, 11 Utah 2d 289, 293, 358 P.2d 344, 347 (1961), the Court adopted section 46 of the Second Restatement of Torts and held that a plaintiff is entitled to damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress where the defendant intentionally engaged in some conduct toward the plaintiff: (a) with the purpose of inflicting emotional distress, or; (b) where any reasonable person would have known that such would result; and his actions are of such a nature as to be considered outrageous and intolerable in that they offend against the generally accepted standards of decency and morality. The Court stated: "Due to the highly subjective and volatile nature of emotional distress and the variability of its causations, the courts have historically been wary of dangers in opening the door to recovery therefor. This is partly because such claims may easily be fabricated: or as sometimes stated, are easy to assert and hard to defend against." (Samms, 11 Utah 2d at 291, 358 P.2d at 345.) Accordingly, to state a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must allege that the defendant