Excuse me, pal, there's a little something missing

"This is a particularly remarkable omission given the name of the tort."

6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Boyce F. Martin, Jr., observing in Heavrin v. Schilling. (In re: Triple S Restaurants, Inc.), that an attorney's complaint against a bankruptcy trustee for outrage and intentional infliction of emotional distress did not allege "emotional distress of any kind, much less of a severe nature."

The parties have been jousting in court for years. In this instance, the attorney claimed the trustee was trying to strong-arm a settlement concerning insurance proceeds by threatening him with a federal criminal prosecution.

Judge Martin said the bankruptcy court did the right thing by booting the complaint and sanctioning the attorney.