Law Commons^™

Torts, Cynthia Trimboli Adams, Charles R. Adams Iii

Mercer Law Review

Elsa, soil ich dein Gatte heissen,
Soll Land und Leut' ich schirmen dir,
Soll nichts mich weider von der reissen,
Musst Eines du geloben mir:
Nie sollst du mich befragen,
Noch Wissens Sorge tragen,
Woher ich kam der Fahrt,
Noch wie mein Nam' und Art!

The renowned composer and dramaturge Richard Wagner assimilated several hundred years of German myth and legend into his epic "music drama" Lohengrin. Elsa, the paradigmatic damsel in distress, is miraculously rescued by the mysterious, sword-bearing Swan Knight, on the sole condition that, as the stranger solemnly enjoins in the passage quoted above, she never ask …

Gottshall V. Consolidated Rail Corp.: Recognizing Negligently Inflicted Emotional Injuries Under The Federal Employers' Liability Act, J. Scott Hale

Mercer Law Review

The United States Supreme Court in Consolidated Rail Corp. v. Gottshall granted certiorari for two cases from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ("Third Circuit"). Both cases involved claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress under the Federal Employers' Liability Act ("FELA"). In Gottshall v. Consolidated Rail Corp., the plaintiff alleged that he suffered from major depression and pest-traumatic stress disorder because his employer, Conrail, negligently forced him to watch and actively participate in the events leading to a close friend's death. Conrail dispatched plaintiff and several other employees, including plaintiff's close friend Richard Johns, …