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Burgess v. Busby3/20/2001
was allowed by the trial court to the complaints in Henry, the complaints would "set forth a claim in which the plaintiff alleged a conspiracy, wrongful acts and injuries resulting from those acts. The claim, therefore, is legally sufficient to withstand a motion for dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6)." In re Kivett, 310 N.C. at 90, 310 S.E.2d at 336. Plaintiffs' complaint sufficiently alleges a cause of action for common law obstruction of justice in that it alleges (1) defendant alerted health care providers to the names of the jurors in retaliation for their verdict; (2) this retaliation was designed to harass plaintiffs; and (3) defendant's conduct was meant to obstruct the administration of justice in Rowan County. The complaint also alleges all the necessary elements of obstructing justice through harassment of and communication with jurors. N.C.G.S. § 14-225.2 (1999). We reverse the trial court's dismissal of plaintiffs' claim for obstruction of justice against defendant.
VIII.
Plaintiffs assert their complaint states a claim for punitive damages under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1D-15. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1D-15 (1999) provides in part:
(a) Punitive damages may be awarded only if the claimant proves that the defendant is liable for compensatory damages and that one of the following aggravating factors was present and was related to the injury for which compensatory damages were awarded:
(1) Fraud.
(2) Malice.
(3) Willful or wanton conduct.
"Punitive damages are recoverable in tort actions only where there are aggravating factors surrounding the commission of the tort such as actual malice, oppression, gross and wilful wrong, insult, indignity, or a reckless or wanton disregard of plaintiff's rights." Burns v. Forsyth Co. Hospital Authority, 81 N.C. App. 556, 561, 344 S.E.2d 839, 844 (1986). Our Court held in Brown v. Burlington Industries, Inc., 93 N.C. App. 431, 438, 378 S.E.2d 232, 236-37 (1989), disc. review improv. allowed, 326 N.C. 356, 388 S.E.2d 769 (1990) that one of the constituent elements in alleging a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress is an "extreme and outrageous" act by defendant. "The existence of an outrageous act supports submission of an issue pertaining to punitive damages to the jury." Id.
In the case before us, plaintiffs' complaint sufficiently alleges a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Therefore, the aggravating factor required under N.C.G.S. § 1D-15 is sufficiently alleged in the complaint to support a claim for punitive damages. We reverse the order of the trial court as to this cause of action.
IX.
Plaintiffs' final argument is that defendant's letter is not protected speech under the United States or the North Carolina Constitutions and protected speech is therefore not a defense to the imposition of liability under the facts alleged by plaintiffs. Defendant counters that the communication to plaintiffs' physicians is protected speech under Hall. Hall specifically dealt with "invasion of privacy by public disclosure of true but 'private' facts." Hall, 323 N.C. at 270, 372 S.E.2d at 717. The claims in Hall were based upon two stories printed in The Salisbury Post which revealed private facts about an adoptive mother and child. The facts in the case before us are not based on the disclosure of private facts through publication and therefore Hall does not apply.
The United States Supreme Court in Pennekamp v. Florida, 328 U.S. 331, 90 L. Ed. 1295 (1946) stated that " reedom of discussion should be given the widest range compatible with the essential requirement of the fair and orderly administration of jus
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