New Jersey Injury Lawyer Blog

The wife of Miami Heat star Dwayne Wade recently filed a lawsuit on her own behalf and on behalf of her children reportedly claiming that Wade and his girlfriend negligently and intentionally caused them emotional distress. The bases of her claims are that Wade and his girlfriend engaged in inappropriate sexual foreplay contact in the presence of the children and the girlfriend otherwise caused her emotional distress in breaking up her marriage. It is important to note that Wade and his wife are currently embroiled in bitter divorce litigation.
As stated earlier in this blog, such claims of alienation of affections are barred in the State of New Jersey. Thus, the wife's claims against the girlfriend would be barred pursuant to New Jersey law. However, given the nature of the claims asserted by her on behalf of her children, these claims would probably survive.
Specifically, New Jersey law allows for the recovery of monetary damages where it can be shown that either the negligent or intentional actions of another caused emotional distress. These types of claims are generally seen in personal injury type cases where the trauma of the negligent event causes some type of emotional problems. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one such diagnosis that is ordinarily seen. However, there is no requirement that the triggering event be traumatic in nature. Any action could cause the basis of the emotional distress. Importantly, however, depending upon the nature of the emotional distress claim, the law may require that such emotional stress be accompanied by physical symptoms such as headaches, gastrointestinal ailments or skin disorders that a physician can link to an emotional diagnosis.
In any event, if it can be proven that Wade's children are suffering from emotional symptoms that can be related to actions undertaken by he or his girlfriend in their presence, the cause of action may stand. However, such a case filed in the state of New Jersey also raises issues of parental immunity. That is, children may not sue their parents for injuries caused by the parents' general negligence arising out of the supervision of the child. For instance, a child may not maintain a cause of action against a parent sustained while playing with matches because the parent was not properly supervising the child. While the Wade case does not necessarily fit neatly into this category, arguments can be made by a skilled attorney that the same legal theories apply.
Regardless of all of the above, it does not appear that any court will have the opportunity to make rulings on this case. In our opinion, the case was clearly filed for purposes of obtaining an advantage in the divorce matter.