Fight The Hypo

Just in time for my Torts class’ discussion about Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress comes this lawsuit from Jeb Corliss (this story was posted less than 2 hours before class yesterday) :

Jeb Corliss, the professional parachute jumper who tried to leap off the Empire State Building on April 27, 2006, released a short video today showing him struggling with plainclothes security guards and police officers on the observation deck.

Wearing all black and a parachute on his back, Mr. Corliss can be seen awkwardly clambering over the inward curving, spiked fence around the observation deck, then clinging to the outside of it as security guards rush over.

[...]Mr. Corliss gave the film — refusing to disclose its source — to reporters in New York today as he filed a lawsuit claiming that it was his life, not anybody else’s, that was most endangered by his stunt, not because of anything he did but because of the actions of the security guards.

[...]He was there to file a $30 million lawsuit against the Empire State Building Company, accusing the building’s agents of defaming his character, unlawfully imprisoning him on the observation deck and causing him emotional distress and lost income. His lawsuit was a counterclaim to a $12 million lawsuit filed against him by the Empire State Building Company last year, accusing him of endangering innocent bystanders. A building spokesman said at the time that the lawsuit was intended to discourage others from emulating Mr. Corliss.

Let’s see…

Can you inflict IIED if you’re stopping someone from committing illegal act?

What if a court has already ruled that “as a professional, Mr. Corliss was experienced and careful enough to jump off a building without endangering his own life or anyone else’s”?