Imho one thing that makes the law system bit different there in U.S is that there it is possible to ask and get money - a lot of money - for emotional distress in no-crime cases like this. So why wouldn't people (and their lawyers) take advantage of it?
Is it lawyers, victim or judge that decides what is the real value of emotional distress (= someone feels bad or hurts his mind) and how does money compensate it?