Janvier v Sweeney

Janvier v Sweeney [1919] 2 KB 316 is a decision by the English Court of Appeal dealing with liability for nervous shock caused by an intentional act.

Janvier v Sweeney
Court	Court of Appeal of England and Wales
Decided	1919
Citation	2 KB 316

Facts

A private detective told a woman that he was a police detective and that she was wanted for communicating with a German spy. He did this in order to obtain certain information about her employer. The woman suffered shock and nervous illness as a result of this statement.

Judgment

Applying the rule in Wilkinson v Downton, the court ruled that the detective was liable for the nervous shock to the plaintiff, who had an even stronger case than in Wilkinson v Downton, since there was a clear intention to frighten the victim in order to unlawfully obtain information.

See also

• Wilkinson v Downton
• Nervous shock (English Law)