Cornblith v. First Maintenance Supply Co.

JEFFERSON, J.

Plaintiff appeals from the judgment of dismissal entered upon the sustaining of defendants’ demurrer to his complaint for damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The demurrer was sustained without leave to amend when plaintiff indicated to the court that he was unable to more strongly plead a cause of action.

[565]

In the complaint plaintiff alleges that he worked, under a written agreement of employment, as an outside commission salesman for defendant First Maintenance Supply Co.; defendant Fleisehman was one of its officers. The complaint further alleges that defendant Fleisehman, while in thg course and scope of his employment and "for the purpose of undermining plaintiff’s morale and to cause him to terminate his employment, did the following acts: (1) He refused to permit a particular fellow employee to service plaintiff’s accounts while plaintiff was recovering from injuries suffered in an automobile accident; (2) thereafter, when plaintiff had returned to part time work, he admonished another salesman not to give plaintiff any help; (3) subsequently, he informed other employees not to follow the customary procedure of taking phone orders from plaintiff, thereby requiring plaintiff to mail or personally bring in his orders; (4) and, finally, he failed to respond to plaintiff’s.written demand that his conduct and attitude (and that of the other employees of defendant) toward plaintiff be changed. ■ ¡

The complaint contains the additional general allegations that Fleisehman’s acts against plaintiff were inflicted with malice and with the intent to injure him mentally and emotionally; and that, as a consequeneé • of defendant’s acts, plaintiff “suffered humiliation'and severe emotional distress, all of which makes him nervous. ” '

The trial court correctly concluded that plaintiff ’s complaint fails to state a cause of action. “Intentional infliction of emotional distress, without physical trauma, can be a ground of liability

(State Rubbish etc. Assn.

v.

Siliznoff,

38 Cal.2d 330 [240 P.2d 282]), but only when the defendant’s conduct is ‘outrageous’