Lee v. BANK OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRUST AND SAVINGS ASS'N

The real issue in this case is whether a person may be sued for something he or she has not yet done.

I

Here are the facts. In 1988 Cynthia Diane Lee was the manager of branch operations at a Bank of America branch in Costa Mesa. She complained to her supervisor about various safety hazards at the branch, including exposed electrical wiring, broken metal cabinets with jagged edges, teller carts with broken wheels, loose lighting fixtures, chairs with broken casters and exposed nails and tacks, a broken stairway rail, lack of adequate drinking water and tom stair floor. She also complained to her supervisor’s superiors that he had failed to release funds to a marshall who was executing a lien.

On March 14, 1988, Lee was demoted. She was given a memo stating she would be given “a position of less managerial responsibility in another office.” Her salary was to be reduced by $200 per month. The supervisor allegedly told Lee that the demotion would be effective March 22, 1988.

After the demotion, Lee suffered a “stress/anxiety attack” allegedly as the result of her “employment situation.” She was then placed on extended medical leave until January 1989, when her doctor…