Khiry Cosey on Behalf of Her Minor Children, Corbin Hilliard and Alyssa Hilliard Individually and on Behalf of the Estate of Reginald Hilliard, Jr. v. Flight Academy of New Orleans, LLC; Jazz Aviation, LLC; Qbe Insurance Corporation; Christiansen Aviation, Inc.; Abc Insurance Company; Signature Flight Support Corporation; Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty Se; The Estate of James Biondo; And Def Insurance Company, 357 So.3d 445

On Aug. 27, 2016, a Cessna 172 piloted by James Biondo crashed into Lake Pontchartrain during an aerial tour; the aircraft sank and two occupants (including Reginald Hilliard, Jr.) were later recovered deceased.
The Hilliard family (mother Tukeya Jarvis, grandmother Dorothy Jarvis, brother Thomas Hilliard) learned of the crash roughly three hours after it occurred and arrived at the Lakefront Airport about eight hours after the crash while search-and-rescue operations were underway.
The family did not witness the crash; they observed post-crash search efforts from the shoreline and learned of recovery of bodies days later.
The Hilliard family sued, asserting bystander emotional-distress claims under La. Civ. Code art. 2315.6; defendants (the Biondo Estate and Flight Academy/Jazz/QBE) moved for summary judgment to dismiss those claims.
The trial court granted summary judgment for defendants; the Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding the family failed to satisfy the statute's temporal/physical-proximity requirement.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Hilliard family may recover under La. Civ. Code art. 2315.6 for bystander emotional-distress despite not witnessing the crash	Hilliard family: a bystander need not witness the injury-causing event; their arrival and prolonged uncertainty (three days) suffice as "soon thereafter" and were before a "substantial change" in the victim's condition	Defendants: the injury-causing event was the plane crash hours earlier; the family was notified and arrived well after the crash and after the plane sank, so they lack the required temporal/physical proximity; the search/rescue activity was not the injury-causing event	Court: Affirmed summary judgment—family did not meet art. 2315.6 (they arrived too late and did not view the injury-causing event)

Lejeune v. Rayne Branch Hosp., 556 So.2d 559 (La. 1990) (establishes bystander recovery rule: must view accident or come upon scene soon thereafter and before substantial change in victim's condition)
Trahan v. McManus, 728 So.2d 1273 (La. 1999) (emphasizes need for temporal proximity between tortious event, observable harm, and plaintiff's distress)
Louviere v. Louviere, 839 So.2d 57 (La. App. 1 Cir. 2002) (affirmed bystander recovery where family witnessed an ongoing, dangerous event in real time)
Chatelain v. Fluor Daniel Const. Co., 179 So.3d 791 (La. App. 4 Cir. 2015) (recites de novo standard of appellate review for summary judgment)