Hansen v. Sea Ray Boats, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
107 F.3d 21 (1997)

- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Linda Hansen (plaintiff) observed her son’s near drowning from the deck of a boat manufactured by Sea Ray Boats, Inc. (Sea Ray) (defendant). It was later determined that the incident occurred after Hansen’s son suffered an in-water electrical shock caused by the boat’s faulty electrical system. Hansen sued Sea Ray for the emotional distress Hansen experienced in witnessing the incident. The federal district court dismissed Hansen’s claim after determining that the incident never put Hansen herself in actual physical danger and that therefore Hansen could not satisfy the applicable state law’s zone-of-danger test. Hansen appealed to the Tenth Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.