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SARAH JOAN WATSON v. BOBBY DIXON and DUKE UNIVERSITY No. 103A99 (Filed 13 July 2000) Damages and Remedies--punitive damages--vicarious liability--ratification--employer liability in excess of employee's In a case where plaintiff sued a co-employee and their employer for the co-employee's intimidation and harassment of plaintiff in the workplace, the Court of Appeals did not err by concluding that punitive damage liability of an employer under a theory of vicarious liability, such as ratification, can exceed the punitive damage liability of the employee because: (1) unlike compensatory damages, punitive damages are not necessarily intended to restore plaintiff to her original condition or to make plaintiff whole; and (2) limiting an employer's punitive damages to the amount assessed against the employee whose tortious conduct the employer ratified would chill the deterrent and penal effects of punitive damages on the employer. Appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S.

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