can you sue someone for cussing and yelling at you or would that conflict with freedom-of-speech?

Question

can you sue someone for cussing and yelling at you or would that conflict with freedom-of-speech?

Answer 1

*Theoretically*, if the cussing and yelling rises to a certain level of severity, you can sue for intentional infliction of severe emotional distress (IISED). However, while I disagree that the First Amendment is automatically dispositive of a civil lawsuit based on the offensiveness of someone's speech (or at least it isn't in New York), the First Amendment does weigh heavily on judges' minds, and courts therefore loathe, absolutely loathe, such lawsuits.

Accordingly, the standard that the plaintiff must meet on an IISED lawsuit is extremely high. First of all, it must be shown that the words in question would likely have inflicted SEVERE emotional distress on a hypothetical "reasonable person of ordinary prudence and experience" (objective standard). Then, it must be demonstrated that the plaintiff actually did suffer SEVERE emotional distress -- whose effects must be documented by medical treatment and specific witness testimony (subjective standard). Ordinarily, the tortfeasor "takes the plaintiff as he finds him"; but in case of IISED allegations, an emotionally fragile plaintiff cannot recover for conduct which would not similarly affect the hypothetical reasonable person. There is no recovery for idiosyncratic emotional distress.

The likely problem in your hypothetical is the "reasonable person" prong. In this day and age, when obscenities of the worst kind are dropped matter-of-factly, even in professional settings, a court is likely to rule as a matter of law that "cussing and yelling" would not, in and of itself, cause severe emotional distress to a reasonable person of ordinary prudence and experience. Of course, variables may be introduced, such as the actual words being said, or unique features of the plaintiff's background; for example, if the plaintiff is a member of an insular and very religious community, where profanity is very unusual, the hypothetical reasonable person may be deemed to be a hypothetical reasonable member of that community, etc. Nevertheless, as a practical matter, I have never seen a single New York case where "cussing and yelling" was deemed to constitute, at least arguably, IISED.

What kinds of words DO constitute IISED? Examples of cases just off the top of my head: telling the plaintiff her son had committed suicide; a doctor intentionally and falsely telling the plaintiff he had a terminal illness.

Answer 2

You can sue them but unless you have actual loss, (such as an actual dollar amount) because of their yelling and cussing at you, you'll get laughed right out of the court-room.

You'd show much more maturity by just walking away and ignoring the yeller.

.

Answer 3

You can sue anyone for anything, but you won't win unless you can prove that their actions caused you some sort of loss.

Answer 4

You can sue them, but the case will be dismissed on 1st Amendment grounds since the courts cannot punish that activity.

Answer 5

I have been yell at all my life it good to hear that you can do something about it thank you

Answer 6

You can sue them, but you will win only if :
1. The person that yelled and cussed was
a. white male
b. middle class
c. conservative republican
2. you must be:
a. a minority excepted by the media
b. able to use media to convince US public that your felling were hurt.
c. liberal democrat