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.

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.