McQuay v. Guntharp’s Empirical Analysis
1998
Citation profile
8 federal appellate · 2 district · 58 state decisions
How this case has been cited
Cited by 77 later decisions — most recently January 2026 · most notably Adams v. Arthur (1998), Martin v. Arthur (1999)
8 federal appellate · 2 district · 58 state decisions
Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.
Relationships
Relies on MBM Co., Inc. v. Counce · Sterling Drug, Inc. v. Oxford · Slaton v. Slaton · Smith v. American Greetings Corp. · Angle v. Alexander
Most-quoted passages
The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 77 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.
“To establish an outrage claim, a plaintiff must demonstrate the following elements: (1) the actor intended to inflict emotional distress or knew or should have known that emotional distress was the likely result of his conduct; (2) the conduct was extreme and outrageous, was beyond all possible bounds of decency, and was utterly intolerable in a civilized community; (3) the actions of the defendant were the cause of the plaintiff's distress; and (4) the emotional distress sustained by the plaintiff was so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it.”
8 later decisions quote this exact passage“Appellants were patients of Dr. Guntharp. During their physical examinations, he informed them that he needed to check their heart rate or lungs. While using a stethoscope, Dr. Guntharp improperly touched, examined, and fondled Appellants’ breasts. Appellants stated that as a result of the trauma of the incident, they have suffered and continue to suffer from extreme mental anguish. Appellants specifically pleaded that the trauma of having a doctor, whom each Appellant had trusted, fondle their breasts in a sexually suggestive manner has caused all of them to be less trusting of physicians in general. Appellants claimed that as a result of these acts, they missed work and should be compensated for lost wages. Appellants claimed further to have sustained medical expenses in the past, and that they may sustain future medical expenses. Appellants Sam McQuay and Dennis Rowe asserted that they have suffered a loss of consortium of their wives as a result of Dr. Guntharp’s actions. . . . The nature of the physician-patient relationship and the nature of the allegations presented by Appellants create the appropriateness of a suit for tort of outrage. A patient entrusts his or her body and sense of dignity to a physician. The patient subjects himself or herself to a loss of this dignity and a loss of privacy by even divulging his or her personal thoughts as to what ails him or her. Looking to the facts alleged in the complaint, it is apparent that these patients were most vulnerable ”
1 later decision quote this exact passagee.g. McQuay v. Guntharp
How this case has been treated — in progress
Whether each later court followed, distinguished, criticized, or overruled this decision. The treatment classification (task #35) runs highest-cited cases first and lights up here as it reaches this one.