Torts & Personal Injury

1) What were the essential facts of that case?

Watson and Dixon were both employed with Duke in the Sterile Processing Department of the Medical Center, when Watson began to experience difficulty with Dixon’s harassing behavior. His behavior consisted of crank telephone calls, rubbing his body against Watson, touching her breasts, confining Watson to a room against her will, drawing a picture of her body depicting it with a penis, making obscene comments about her, scaring Watson in an area where rapes had occurred, and making scary comments about her long drive home on dark roadways.

This conduct occurred during a period of seven or eight months (from approximately August 1991 to late March 1992), during which plaintiff experienced bouts of crying, vomiting, and inability to sleep, until finally suffering a nervous breakdown. Watson has been treated for almost two years by Dr. Bonny Gregory, a psychiatrist, who has diagnosed her with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. . 2) What are the elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress under North Carolina law?

To state a claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress under North Carolina law, the plaintiff must demonstrate that “(1) the defendant negligently engaged in conduct, (2) it was reasonably intended foreseeable that such conduct would cause the plaintiff severe emotional distress . . ., and (3) the conduct did in fact cause severe emotional distress.”

3) How were the elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress applied to that case? In other words, explain why the court concluded that there was enough evidence to establish intentional infliction of emotional distress. 1.defendant’s ‘conduct exceeds all bounds usually tolerated by decent society SUCH AS f crank telephone calls, rubbing his body against Watson.