We hope it all goes well when we enter into a business partnership with another person. Generally, we select people we know and trust to do business with. We trust they will consider the company’s and your best interests. Unfortunately, human relationships are challenging.
People in a business partnership can butt heads and disagree about the direction of the company. In some instances, partners can become nasty and emotionally abusive towards one another.
If things escalate to a point where you feel unsafe, you may ask: Can I sue my business partner for emotional distress? Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to do so.
Suing for emotional distress can be complex, but a savvy business dispute attorney can help you navigate and resolve the issue.
What Is Emotional Distress?
Emotional distress in the legal world is diagnosable psychological suffering that happens in response to a traumatic or abusive event, occurrence, or pattern of events or conditions. It is when another party’s actions or misconduct creates or exacerbates psychiatric issues.
Symptoms of emotional distress often include anxiety, depression, loss of ability to perform tasks, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic attacks, and physical illnesses.
Emotional distress usually is a temporary condition that subsides over time. For some individuals, the condition can last for months or years after the incident.
Determining if someone is experiencing mental anguish that rises to a level to support a legal claim is challenging. Every person can demonstrate different symptoms and different levels of emotional distress.
There are also very few objective means of measuring the condition. Lawyers must rely on medical records and the opinions of medical professionals to support a claim that an individual is suffering from emotional distress.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods
Not every dispute or partnership that turns sour leads to litigation. Many disputes can be worked out between partners independently or through alternative dispute resolution models like mediation or arbitration.
You may also consider consulting a business law attorney to review your partnership agreement to determine if it provides any recourse.
Can I Sue My Business Partner for Emotional Distress?
If you are unable to resolve the dispute out of court, you may be able to file a lawsuit for emotional distress. Florida has the “impact rule,” which says that if you want to sue someone for emotional distress, you must have some physical injury associated with it before negligence liability attaches.
So, pursuing a claim against a business partner without injury may be challenging. However, there are exceptions to this rule where a plaintiff can claim damages for mental anguish without showing they were physically injured.
Some grounds for suing a business partner in Florida for emotional distress include:
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress—where your business partner engages in hostile conduct with the intent to cause you emotional damage, such as defamation, harassment, sexual assault, discrimination, or threats;
- Negligence—if your business partner’s negligent actions result in emotional distress, such as making reckless decisions that harm the partnership or neglecting their obligations; and
- Breach of fiduciary duty—if a business partner fails to uphold their fiduciary duties or acts in a way that breaches their duty in a way that causes emotional harm, such as mismanagement, betrayal, or fraud.
Proving emotional distress can be challenging due to the nuances of the condition and the law. An experienced attorney can help you understand if you have a claim and how to resolve it best.
Remedies for Emotional Distress
Several remedies may be available if you prevail in your claim. You could be entitled to:
- Monetary damages—this includes compensation for the emotional harm suffered and may also include legal fees or related costs;
- Injunctions—the court can order your business partner to stop the actions or behaviors that are causing you mental anguish; and
- Dissolution of the partnership—in some circumstances where the business partnership cannot be repaired, the court may decide to dissolve it.
Each case is unique, and the amount or type of remedies available differs for each person.
Contact BrewerLong Today About Your Emotional Distress Case
If you believe that you are experiencing severe emotional distress caused by your business partner, contact BrewerLong.
Our team of experienced attorneys can review the details of your situation and determine whether we can resolve your situation through alternative dispute resolution or if you should file a lawsuit. We understand that emotions can run high when maintaining business operations during a stressful situation.
BrewerLong has provided thousands of clients with legal services for business since 2008. We can help relieve some stress by providing answers and support to handle a dispute with your business partner.
Contact BrewerLong today to learn how our team can help you resolve disputes with your business partner or recover damages for emotional distress.
Resources
- The Impact Rule: A Bar to Negligence Liability for Purely Emotional Damages, link
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