Dickens v. Puryear
Supreme Court of North Carolina
276 S.E.2d 325 (1981)
After luring Dickens (plaintiff) to a remote location and severely beating him over two hours while brandishing weapons and debating whether to kill or castrate him, Earl Puryear (defendant) ultimately released Dickens on the threat that he would be killed if he didn't disconnect his phone, pack his belongings, and leave the state; the trial court granted summary judgment on the theory Dickens's claim was really just assault and battery, subject to a shorter one-year limitations period that had already expired, and the appellate court affirmed.
Whether, where assault and battery are accompanied by a threat of future harm, such threat may give rise to a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.