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Martinez v. Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative6/12/2002
lancing the nature and seriousness of the harm, the nature and significance of the actor's conduct, the character of the means used, and the actor's motives). We determined that the plaintiff had established a claim of prima facie tort, although the defendant's conduct fell outside the perimeters of an action for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Id. at 352, 901 P.2d at 770. The unusual facts in Beavers were analogous, under statutory employment law, to a claim of constructive discharge due to a hostile work environment, which led us to recognize a claim for prima facie tort. See id. at 351, 901 P.2d at 769. The case at hand, however, presents no such facts, nor anything similar in terms of hostile and malicious behavior.
Martinez's allegations can be summarized in a few brief statements. She argues that Maez deliberately concealed from her his plan to shortchange her sick leave compensation. She became upset and accused Maez of harassing her when he tried to speak with her about his opinion that Rendon had been overpaid. Martinez also characterizes part of the personnel committee meeting as "secret," because she was not invited to stay while the committee completed its review of the relevant company policies, made calculations, and readjusted the amount of her sick leave redemption. Additionally, she contends that she was being retaliated against for asserting her rights because Maez wrote two memos related to her performance, even though she was unaware of this documentation prior to her retirement and suffered no adverse employment consequences as a result. Martinez also speaks of feeling "humiliated" that NORA hosted a retirement party for her and that Maez spoke glowingly of her at the party, although she also testified that at the time she thought his speech was "very nice." Martinez also presented a great deal of testimony, including expert opinion, regarding how emotionally difficult it had been for her to not receive what she felt she deserved from her longtime employer.
We are not persuaded that any of these allegations, or all of them taken together, rise to the level of both behavior and injury that is envisioned by the theory of prima facie tort. See Beavers, 120 N.M. at 349, 901 P.2d at 767 (balancing test begins by determining the nature and seriousness of the harm caused). NORA's conduct had some justification as it related to the furthering of a legitimate business interest. Cf. id. at 350, 901 P.2d at 768 (examining the nature and significance of the actor's conduct). The means used were not "outside the ambit of legitimate employer behavior." Cf. id. (discussing character of the means used). The evidence does not support the view that NORA "acted maliciously with the intent to cause the injury and without sufficient justification." Cf. id. (discussing the actor's motive). The emotional difficulty that Martinez experienced because of NORA's actions does not, on balance, support a claim for prima facie tort. See id. at 349-51, 901 P.2d at 767-69; see also Stock, 1998-NMCA-081, 38-39 (holding that the plaintiff's prima facie tort claim duplicated other claims and could not be used to evade the more stringent proof requirements of other causes of action).
We hold that Martinez did not have an actionable claim for prima facie tort, and the court committed error, as a matter of law, by submitting the claim to the jury. Thus, her claim for prima facie tort cannot support the award of damages for emotional distress.
Constructive Fraud
Martinez does not provide any authority, nor are we aware of any authority, for the proposition that constructive fraud can support either emotional distress damages or punitive damages. There
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