Fieldcrest Cannon Inc. v. Fireman''s Fund Insurance Co.11/5/1996
olicy]." Id. at 1132 (citing American & For. Ins. v. Church Sch., Diocese of Va., 645 F. Supp. 628 (E.D. Va. 1986)). In the end, the court held that the employee's claims therein were for "injuries arising out of the torts of bad faith and wrongful termination, not out of the defamation torts set forth in the 'Broad Form Comprehensive General Liability Endorsement.'" Id. Accordingly, the court held that Aetna's policy afforded the bank no coverage as the complaint in the underlying action failed to allege any cause of action for defamation, as necessary before the "personal injury" endorsement could be applied. Aetna, 662 F. Supp. 1126; accord Liberty Bank, 870 F.2d 1504. While a complainant may allege damages to reputation, and mental and emotional distress arising from the complainant's discharge or failure to hire, in violation of his/her constitutional rights, such damages do not necessitate a claim for defamation. See Aetna, 662 F. Supp 1126; Liberty Bank, 870 F.2d 1504; see also, American Motorists v. Allied-Sysco Food, 24 Cal.Rptr.2d 106 (Cal. Ct. App. 1962)(holding that the American Motorist Insurance Company's excess policy did not provide coverage for "humiliation, anguish, embarrassment and emotional distress" resulting from Allied-Sysco Food Services' sexually discriminatory practices, nor did the discrimination portion of the policy provide coverage for said damages).
The term defamation encompasses two distinct torts, libel and slander. Generally, libel is written, while slander is oral. Tallent v. Blake, 57 N.C. App. 249, 291 S.E.2d 336 (1982). " libel per se is a publication . . . which, when considered alone without explanatory circumstances: (1) charges that a person has committed an infamous crime ; (2) charges a person with having an infectious disease; (3) tends to impeach a person in that person's trade or profession; or (4) otherwise tends to subject one to ridicule, contempt or disgrace." Renwick v. News and Observer and Renwick v. Greensboro News, 310 N.C. 312, 317, 312 S.E.2d 405, 409 (citing Flake v. News Co., 212 N.C. 780, 787, 195 S.E. 55, 60 (1938)), reh'g denied, 310 N.C. 749, 315 S.E.2d 704, cert. denied, 469 U.S. 858, 83 L. Ed. 2d 121 (1984). Slander per se is an oral communication to a third person which amounts to (1) an accusation that the plaintiff committed a crime involving moral turpitude; (2) an allegation that impeaches the plaintiff in his trade, business, or profession; or (3) an imputation that the plaintiff has a loathsome disease. U v. Duke University, 91 N.C. App. 171, 371 S.E.2d 701, disc. review denied, 323 N.C. 629, 374 S.E.2d 590 (1988); Morris v. Bruney, 78 N.C. App. 668, 338 S.E.2d 561 (1986). "When defamatory words are spoken with the intent that the words be reduced to writing, and the words are in fact written, the publication is both slander and libel." Clark v. Brown, 99 N.C. App. 255, 261, 393 S.E.2d 134, 137, disc. review denied, 327 N.C. 426, 395 S.E.2d 675 (1990)(citing Bell v. Simmons, 247 N.C. 488, 494, 101 S.E.2d 383, 388 (1958)). With this in mind, we must now entertain defendant Fireman's Fund's argument that the trial court erred in finding coverage for the following six (6) underlying employment discrimination claims.
1.
The Rosenthal Suit
As to the Rosenthal lawsuit, Mr. Rosenthal's complaint, in addition to age and religious discrimination, alleged that Cannon had damaged his reputation. Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Rosenthal's allegations of damage to reputation encompass "personal injury" coverage as this included "utterance of . . . defamatory or disparaging material."
However, Mr. Rosenthal's allegations fail in any manner to make out a prima facie claim for defamation. As such,
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