Charlotte Tubbs v. Gerard Nicol, 675 F. App'x 437

Tubbs, a United flight attendant, and passenger Nicol had an in-flight dispute after a first-class attendant retrieved headphones from an empty seat in Nicol’s row; Nicol alleges Tubbs later touched his arm, which Tubbs denies.
After deplaning Nicol complained to airport agents and police; no charges were filed against Tubbs.
About a month later Nicol emailed United CEO Jeff Smisek a five-page complaint letter accusing Tubbs of "alleged criminal activities" and saying he had forwarded it to law enforcement (he later admitted he had not).
Tubbs sued Nicol in Texas state court for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED), and tortious interference with prospective employment; the case was removed to federal district court.
The district court granted Nicol summary judgment on all claims; the Fifth Circuit affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Defamation — failure to comply with Defamation Mitigation Act	Tubbs argued a retraction request would be futile because Nicol testified he would not change the letter	Nicol argued Tubbs never requested correction/clarification/retraction as required by the DMA	Court: Tubbs failed to make the DMA request; single deposition remark did not establish futility; defamation claim barred
IIED — whether IIED available when alleged injury duplicates statutory/common-law remedy	Tubbs claimed emotional distress from Nicol's allegedly defamatory statements	Nicol argued IIED cannot replace or duplicate statutory/common-law remedies covering the same gravamen	Court: Gravamen is defamation; IIED unavailable as duplicative; claim fails
Tortious interference — interference with employment relationship and intent element	Tubbs contended Nicol’s letter interfered with her employment with United	Nicol argued Tubbs presented no evidence of intent to disrupt her employment and letter only requested counseling of staff	Court: Tubbs failed to show required intent (willful desire to impair employment); claim fails

Davis v. Fort Bend Cty., 765 F.3d 480 (5th Cir. 2014) (standard of review for summary judgment)
WFAA-TV, Inc. v. McLemore, 978 S.W.2d 568 (Tex. 1998) (elements for defamation by a private, non-media defendant)
Creditwatch, Inc. v. Jackson, 157 S.W.3d 814 (Tex. 2005) (IIED is a gap-filler tort not to duplicate statutory remedies)
Standard Fruit & Vegetable Co. v. Johnson, 985 S.W.2d 62 (Tex. 1998) (limitations on IIED where other remedies exist)
Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Zeltwanger, 144 S.W.3d 438 (Tex. 2004) (IIED cannot be used when statutory remedy addresses the same wrong)
Coinmach Corp. v. Aspenwood Apartment Corp., 417 S.W.3d 909 (Tex. 2013) (elements for tortious interference with prospective relations)
ACS Investors, Inc. v. McLaughlin, 943 S.W.2d 426 (Tex. 1997) (elements for tortious interference with existing contracts)