MacY's California, Inc. v. Superior Court

Opinion

CHIN, P. J.

Catherine Jenae Tussy-Garber (Tussy-Garber) allegedly pricked her finger on a hypodermic needle in the pocket of a jacket that had been returned to Macy’s California, Inc. (Macy’s), by another customer. Tussy-Garber is now suing Macy’s for negligence, asserting a right to emotional distress damages because she fears contracting acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) 1 or another serious or lethal disease. Macy’s challenges availability of emotional distress damages for fear of disease where no physical harm has been shown. We conclude that the superior court erred in…