FACTS While volunteering at the Pima County Bar Association's "Ask a Lawyer Day" a week ago, I met with a potential client Joe Gatsby who wants to sue Gamers Paradise for emotional distress he suffered when the store tried to collect payment for a $1,500 debt he never incurred. Gamers Paradise is a video game rental/retail store with an onsite gaming lounge. Joe told me that he informed Gamers Paradise personnel that its harassment was causing him insomnia, nightmares, and weight loss after three weeks of abusive phone calls and text messages. After four weeks, Joe showed me a copy of the following letter he wrote to the president of Gamers Paradise: "The conduct of your personnel in pursuing payment for purchases and rentals I never made is having a horrendous impact on my health and emotional stability. My physician is giving me sedatives around the clock to control the acute anxiety I have been experiencing. This situation is intolerable, and I expect you, as president of the store, to clear this matter us before I become a complete wreck."The store president wrote back to [oe promising that she would resolve the matter but telling [oe that it might take a week or so to clear up the confusion. Two weeks after the president's response, loe received a letter from |amers Paradise saying it had reported his delinquent account to the credit rating bureaus and sent it to collections. [oe told me about a variety of reactions to Gamers Paradise's tactics, including insomnia, nightmares, and weight loss {15 pounds]. 1When he began hyperventilating after each phone call from Gamers Paradise, he became worried about his health. He went to see his doctor, who diagnosed him with suffering from acute anxiety. The doctor gave him a prescription for 1G- mg ofUalium {antianxiety medication} and told him to take one tablet four times a day. Filthough Joe has been following this regimen, he complains the medication has been interfering with his job performance and social life. He has had trouble concentrating, dosed off during an important meeting at work, and feels too lethargic to go out in the evenings, or exercise. Recently, his employer has told him to "shape up\Davis v. Finance Corp. The tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress requires a showing that the distress is severe. Mental conditions such as fright, horror, shame, humiliation, or worry may fall within the ambit of the term emotional distress. However, these mental conditions alone are not actionable. The distress must be so severe that no reasonable person could be expected to endure it. The court decided that Davis's distress was severe because she suffered shame and anxiety and required medical attention, but dismissed the case because Davis was unable to establish the separate elements of outrageous conduct and reckless conduct. Marlboro v. First Bank lune Marlboro, a 5?year-old widowed teacher, was diagnosed as suffering major depression in lune 193?. Four months prior to this diagnosis, Marlboro defaulted on her improvement loan from First Bank because she had lent her retired brother money to buy a new car. In the month following default, Marlboro received daily threatening letters. Later, the bank collection agent began making nightly, obscene phone calls. Marlboro went on eating binges after these calls. After the bank called her school principal to inform him of her default, Marlboro's symptoms of depression worsened. She was often fatigued and began taking naps during the day and oversleeping in the mornings. She experienced a loss ofselfesteem. She was unable to make decisions. She gained 2|] pounds. Marlboro went to her doctor who found that Marlboro's weight increase had raised her blood pressure. Her doctor put her on a special diet and told her that she had to lose weight. She also referred Marlboro to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist testified that [une's mental health had been seriously threatened. The court found Marlboro's distress so severe no reasonable person could be expected to endure it. Dale v. University Hospital Jim Dale lost his job when his employer went bankrupt. In the months that followed, money became increasingly tight. Then, Mrs. Dale was hospitalized with leukemia. Dale, who never bought medical insurance to replace his old employee coverage, was unable to pay the hospital bills. University Hospital turned his account over to a collection agency, which began hounding him for payment. Soon thereafter, Dale sank into a serious depression. He suffered from an emotional paralysis so severe that he was unable to leave the apartment. He refused to visit his wife in the hospital, and missed several job interviews. His physician put him on anti-depressants. Although the court found Dale's distress so severe as to interfere with normal functioning, it concluded that his distress was not the result of the defendant's actions, but of his wife's diagnosis and his unemployment. Shatner v. Credit Inc. Shatner, a seasoned actor in rehearsal for an off-Broadway musical, defaulted on his payments to Credit Inc. When Credit Inc. attempted to collect the debt, Shatner reacted emotionally. He broke down several times during rehearsal, ranting about Credit's persecution of him and sobbing that he was misunderstood. On more than one occasion, he threw himself on the stage, pounding the floor and moaning that he was ruined. His doctor testified that Shatner's response to Credit's collection methods was extreme and that he had prescribed a mild sedative for Shatner. Although Shatner tended to forget his lines while on this medication, the musical, when it opened, was a smashing success. Shatner was singled out for his excellent performance. The court found Shatner's emotional distress not actionable. It said Shatner's feelings of hysteria and anxiety had not grossly impeded his functioning and that his behavior was in some measure consistent with his prior character and professional training