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106 N.C. App. 635

418 S.E.2d 260

Gardner v. Gardner

Court of Appeals of North Carolina · decided 1992-07-07

Cited by 15 later decisions — most recently January 1994

15 state decisions

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“id., and it accordingly reversed the trial court. Judge Eagles dissented on the grounds that plaintiff did not observe and was not in close proximity to the negligent act and therefore”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Gardner v. Gardner

“failed to establish sufficient proximity to satisfy the foreseeability requirements of Ruark.”

quoted by 1 later decision, including Gardner v. Gardner

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1992-07-07

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Judge EAGLES

¶1dissenting.

¶2I 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.

¶3Here, 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.

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