Personal Injury Defense

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress | Tort Lawyers in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

NC Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

One of the more famous torts is the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Many common people believe that this is one of the most abused torts in society today. Many believe that this tort should be abolished because people should have the right to express their opinions about others, even though they may not be pleasant. This tort is almost unheard of outside the United States.

This tort does not involve petty insults or harsh words alone. To have an action for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), the conduct must be extremely outrageous and repugnant to the common person. Extra sensitive people are out of luck unless the defendant knew of the hypersensitivities. Examples of activities that would NOT be actionable for IIED would be cursing (using 4-letter words) at people or making fun of them. Petty insults or statements about someone's mother would probably not qualify either. For example, John tells Mary that she is a fat ugly repulsive pig. Mary would not have a successful IIED action against John.

 For a good IIED cause of action, the behavior must be outrageous or consistent. In addition, actual damages must be proven. Simple hurt feelings are not enough. The damages must be severe enough to be a mental disorder that requires treatment. An example of a successful IIED claim would include publishing someone in a fattest, ugliest bride contest on live public radio. Also, 5 people constant taunting a man for his sexual orientation for days on end constituted IIED. The five individuals not only called the plaintiff names, but they also constantly cracked jokes in front of him and put anti-homosexual posters and such in his office.

Intentional infliction of emotional distress is sometimes the catchall tort for outrageous conduct that does not fall under a clear category or class of torts. It is also important to note that the only mental state that is required is recklessness. This means that for one to be held liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, the defendant can be either reckless or intentional in committing the acts.

Also, if the plaintiff and the defendant have a fiduciary relationship or if the plaintiff is a guest or customer of the defendant, a cause of action is much more likely due to the relationship. For instance, if a man standing at a hotdog stand yells out a few profane phrases and flips off a woman, she's not likely to have a case against him. However, let's say a hotel clerk calls the woman a big smelly obese hog and she is staying in a penthouse suite. The hotel clerk next sends her huge boxes of donuts and a giant pot roast pig to make fun of her weight. On the pork is a message that says, "I bet you could eat all of this fatso!" Most likely, the woman would have a case of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Free personal injury legal consultations are available.

The attorneys and lawyers at Everett Law Firm, P.A. understands the issues of intentional infliction of emotional distress in North Carolina. Please feel free to email us or call our Chapel Hill law office, conveniently located in Chapel Hill, to discuss your intentional infliction of emotional distress case. Our toll free phone number is (800) 942-8048.