Honaker v. Smith

After a rancorous history with Village mayor and fire chief Gary Smith (defendant), including a prior civil rights settlement and an alleged threat from Smith to "burn out" Fred Honaker (plaintiff) if he didn't leave town, Honaker's house was intentionally set on fire; Smith, responding as fire chief, refused to let firefighters enter the structurally unsound building, and the blaze took three hours to extinguish. Honaker, though never seeking medical treatment, became visibly distraught upon seeing the aftermath, and sued Smith under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for starting and failing to extinguish the fire, and under Illinois law for intentional infliction of emotional distress; after trial, the court granted Smith judgment as a matter of law on both claims (the IIED claim before verdict, and the § 1983 claim after the jury found for Honaker).