If the jury resolved both these issues in favor of Bender, as it apparently did, then New York might well regard the officer's actions as sufficiently outrageous to satisfy the conduct element of the emotional distress tort. This tort is directed at prohibiting conduct intended to cause personal, emotional damage to an individual rather than conduct intended to cause economic damage to a business as was the case here. The stress can be caused by intentional, reckless or negligence conduct; however, in cases of negligent infliction of emotional distress (NIED), the threshold of injury is higher than in cases of intentional/reckless infliction of emotional distress (IIED). See O'Neill v. Krzeminski, 839 F.2d 9, 13 (2d Cir.1988) (emotional pain compensable as component of damages for police brutality). Intentional infliction of emotional distress is sometimes referred to as the "tort of outrage." However, if personal tort has been committed which will support action to recover some damages, then compensation may be allowed for mental anguish. A basic principle of compensatory damages is that an injury can be compensated only once. at 144-45. All that was undisputed is that Officer Corpes's arm and Bender's teeth came into contact with each other as the police officer was endeavoring to force Bender, then hand-cuffed, to sit down in the police van. 6. "The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress is a departure from the common law" (McIntyre v Manhattan Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, 256 AD2d 269, 270). In particular she noted that, if the jury believed that Officer Corpes told Bender with sadistic intent that Bender would have to go through “the system” and that such a statement signified a threat of something worse than being charged and released, “the jury could have believed that there were additional elements of intentional infliction of emotional distress which do not necessarily inhere in a charge of either malicious prosecution or false imprisonment, or false arrest.”, I. Appellants challenge primarily the component of the $300,700 award imposing $150,000 of damages against one of the individual defendants for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Sources and Authority • “A cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress exists when there is ‘ (1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendant with the intention of causing, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, emotional distress; The jury charge instructed, “If you find that a defendant is liable on one or more of plaintiff's claims, as I have explained them, then you must award the plaintiff sufficient money to compensate her for any injury proximately caused by that defendant's conduct.” This instruction would have been correct in a case where a plaintiff's claims allege entirely distinct injuries, but where, as here, the injuries from the various claims are substantially overlapping, the omission of any instruction to avoid totally or partially overlapping awards risked, if not invited, duplication.5 The wording of the verdict form maintained that risk. Whatever injury Bender suffered from being falsely arrested is distinct from the injury she suffered when struck by Officer Corpes. Levine is Bender's most persuasive authority, but the unusual personal involvement of the police officer with the victim's husband makes that case a doubtful authority for inferring any generalized rule. Bender responds that the statement in Fischer is dictum, and that lower state courts have sustained, against motions to dismiss, emotional distress claims for conduct within the ambit of other torts. He also claimed that the WBCs actions caused him to remember the horrible events that took place during his sons funeral every time he thought of his son. See Murphy v. American Home Products Corp., 58 N.Y.2d 293, 303, 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 236, 448 N.E.2d 86, 90 (1983) (“ ‘so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized [society]’ ”) (quoting Restatement of Torts, Second, § 46 cmt. We are uncertain whether the state courts would entertain an emotional distress claim in addition to the other torts alleged in this case. Bender was handcuffed and placed in a police van. Also, several experts testified that the W… Plaintiff failed to plead sufficient allegations to make out a claim for the intentional infliction of emotional distress and mere conclusory allegations are not sufficient to meet the requirement. The judgment awarded Bender $700 against Timmes, Heinz, O'Sullivan, and the City, jointly and severally; $250,000 against Corpes and the City, jointly and severally; and $50,000 against Timmes and the City, jointly and severally, for an aggregate amount of $300,700.1, The District Court denied the City's Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as a matter of law and its Rule 59(a) motion for a new trial. B. Though not accepting the precise contentions advanced by appellants, we conclude that the aggregate award may not stand and therefore reverse and remand for a new trial unless Bender accepts a remittitur of $150,000. The state law tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress has four elements: (1) extreme and outrageous conduct, (2) intent to cause severe emotional distress, (3) a causal connection between the conduct and the injury, and (4) severe emotional distress. Two recent decisions of the Appellate Division rejecting emotional distress claims have taken a restrictive approach to this state law tort. If appellants had properly challenged the aggregate award, we might well have ordered a new trial unless Bender agreed to a very substantial remittitur. Court held that medical malpractice action against such examiner could be maintained and that plaintiff had alleged sufficient facts to withstand demurrer, in that, plaintiff alleged what the standard of care was, breach of that standard, and resulting damages. In this case defendant had dated plaintiff once and thereafter made repeated harassing phone calls. Similarly, at least part of the injury she suffered from the battery-emotional pain and suffering-is part of the injury she suffered from the emotional injury tort. Law Offices intentional infliction of emotional distress cases John Day, P.C to this state law tort use arrow keys navigate! 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