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CONCLUSION. Nearly two years after the Kentucky Supreme Court issued its opinion in Os- borne, questions linger. Some answers have emerged, but the opinion's full ramifi- cations will become clearer only as parties continue to litigate and courts continue to interpret and apply the new rule. What does appear certain, however, is that O sborne is a landmark opinion that will continue to impact tort litigation for years to come. Whether you represent a plaintiff, a rguing that the rule opens the door for a litany of new claims, or a defendant, treat- ing the rule as a shield to bar damages for emotional distress, litigants must be aware of Osborne and recognize its impact on Kentucky law. Chris Jackson is an asso- ciate at Dinsmore and Shohl, LLP. Jackson fo- cuses his practice prima- rily on tort litigation, defending clients in product liability, premises liability, and trucking matters across a variety of industries. He is a graduate of the Univer- sity of Kentucky and obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law. In addition to maintaining a busy prac- tice, Jackson enjoys serving as a board of di- rector for the University of Kentucky College of Law, Law Alumni Association. Contact him at (859) 425-1000 or christopher.jackson@dins- more.com. Lucas Humble is an attor- ney with the Bowling Green law firm Bell, Orr, Ayers & Moore, P.S.C. He has extensive experi- ence in both litigation and transactional prac- tice, with his primary areas of practice being in civil litigation, insurance defense, and corpo- rate law. Humble is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and received his Juris Doc- tor from University of Kentucky College of Law. In his spare time, Humble serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Bowling Green and is active in the Bowling Green Noon Rotary Club. He can be reached at humble@boamlaw.com or (270) 781-8111. 1 Morgan v. Hightower's Adm'r, 163 S.W.2d 21, 22 (Ky. 1942)(overruled by Osborne v. Keeney, 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012)). 2 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012). 3 163 S.W.2d 21, 22 (Ky. 1942) (overruled by Osborne v. Keeney, 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012)). 4 761 S.W.2d 625 (Ky. 1988) (overruled by Osborne v. Keeney, 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012)). 5 Id.at 626 6 Id. 7 D eutsch v. Shein, 597 S.W.2d 141, 146 (Ky. 1980) ( overruled by Osborne v. Keeney, 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2 012)). 8 I d. 9 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012). 10 Id. at 15. 11 I d. at 16. 12 I d. at 17. 13 I d. 14 Id. 1 5 Id. 1 6 I d. at 17-18. 1 7 I d. at 24. 18 K eel v. St. Elizabeth Med. Ctr., 842 SW2d 860 (Ky. 1 992). 19 West v. KKI, LLC, 300 S.W.3d 184 (Ky. App. 2008). 20 Love v. Walker, 423 S.W.3d 751 (Ky. 2014)("Under Kentucky law, a plaintiff alleging medical malprac- tice is generally required to put forth expert testi- mony to show that the defendant medical provider failed to conform to the standard of care.") But, even in these cases, expert evidence may not be re- quired if "'the jury may reasonably infer both negli- gence and causation from the mere occurrence of the event and the defendant's relation to it,' [or] i n cases where the defendant physician makes cer- t ain admissions that make his negligence appar- e nt." Id. 21 3 99 S.W.3d 1, 6 (Ky. 2012). 22 I d. 23 Id. at 17-18. 2 4 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173102 (E.D. Ky. 2013). 2 5 I d. at *1-2. 2 6 Id. at *2. 27 Id. at *17. 28 I d. at *15-21. 29 I d. at *18-21. 30 See Childers v. Geile, 367 S.W.3d 576 (Ky. 2012)("By adopting the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress, this Court recognized that physical impact, or personal injury, need not be present for a plaintiff to recover.") 31 399 S.W.3d 1, 6, 18, 23 (Ky. 2012). 32 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 153 (Ky. App. 2013). 33 Id. at *1-3. 34 Id. at *10-11. 3 5 Id. at *14. 3 6 Id. at *11-12 (citing Stringer v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 151 S.W.3d 781 (Ky. 2004)). 37 See e.g. Keaton v. G.C. Williams Funeral Home, Inc., 2013 Ky. App. LEXIS 153 (Ky. App. 2013)(Af- firming trial court's grant of defendant's motion for summary judgment as plaintiff had not provided the requisite proof of "some affirmative evidence of se- vere emotional distress to support the claim"); Pow- ell v. Tosh, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63567 (W.D. Ky. 2013)(Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment as plaintiff failed to provide evidence of severe emotional distress as "[i]t follows that a gen- uine emotional distress injury is one that necessarily requires significant treatment. Here, no Plaintiff has sought significant treatment—in fact, no Plaintiff has sought any treatment"). 38 See e.g. Farmer v. Dixon Elec. Sys. & Contr., Inc., 120 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1525 (E.D. Ky. 2013) (Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment as plaintiff failed to present expert evi- dence of severe emotional distress); Sergent v. ICG Knott County, LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 173102 (E.D. Ky. 2013)(Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment as plaintiff could not present the requisite expert evidence as the plaintiff failed to identify any experts before the expert deadline); Hengel v. Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 107202 (E.D. Ky. 2013) (Granting defendant's motion for summary judgment as plaintiff failed to present expert evidence of severe emotional dis- tress). 39 See e.g. Taylor v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1931 (E.D. Ky 2014)(Granting de- fendant's motion to dismiss as the "facts alleged in [plaintiff's] complaint certainly could not be said to qualify as serious or severe under the definition in Osborne"); Odom v. Cranor, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87503 (W.D. Ky. 2013)(Granting defendant's motion to dismiss as "Plaintiff's complaint does not ade- quately state allegations regarding mental distress he suffered to avoid dismissal of these claims"); Odom v. Hiland, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73687 (W.D. Ky. 2013) (same). 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