Jaffe v. National League for Nursing
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; December 6, 1995; New York; State Appellate Court
The Supreme Court of New York County issued an order on December 16, 1994, denying the defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint but modifying the ruling to grant the motion concerning the first cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. This cause of action was dismissed because the allegations did not meet the high standard of outrageous conduct necessary to sustain such a claim. The court reaffirmed that the Workers’ Compensation Law does not serve as an exclusive remedy for intentional torts, referencing established precedents. However, it emphasized the principle that at-will employees can be terminated without cause, which leads to a stringent examination of claims attempting to circumvent this rule through allegations of emotional distress. The court acknowledged that an incident where the defendant allegedly slapped the plaintiff on the backside during an outburst constituted offensive and intentional bodily contact, thus supporting a valid claim for assault and battery. The order was modified to dismiss the emotional distress claim while upholding the viability of the assault and battery claim. The decision was concurred by Judges Ellerin, Wallach, Ross, Nardelli, and Tom.