This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

D is an international manufacturer of computers, office equipment, and telecommunications systems. D offers broad general services in the data processing field. It is reputed to be the single most successful high-technology firm in the world. It is also a major force in the low-technology field of typewriters and office equipment. D is an employer traditionally thought to provide great security to its employees as well as an environment of openness and dignity. D is organized into divisions, and each division is, to an extent, independent of others. P started in 1967 as a receptionist at the Philadelphia Data Center. She was told that 'career opportunities are available to [employees] as long as they are performing satisfactorily and are willing to accept new challenges.' P attended night school and earned a baccalaureate degree. She was promoted to equipment scheduler and not long after received her first merit award. D moved her to Atlanta, Georgia where she spent 15 months as a data processor. She was transferred to the office products division and was assigned the position of 'marketing support representative' in San Francisco where she trained users of newly purchased D equipment. P was promoted to 'product planner' in 1973 where her duties included overseeing the performance of new office products in the marketplace. As a product planner, she moved to Austin, Texas, and later to Lexington, Kentucky. Thereafter, at the urging of her managers that she go into sales in the office products division, she enrolled at the D sales school in Dallas. After graduation, she was assigned to San Francisco. Her territory was the financial district. Her performance was rated at the top of D's scale. D reorganized its office products division into two separate functions, one called office systems and another called office products. P was assigned to office systems; again she was given the highest ratings, received a series of congratulatory letters from her superiors and was promoted to marketing representative. She was one of the most successful sales persons in the office and received a number of prizes and awards for her sales efforts. P was a very successful seller of typewriters and other office equipment. In 1978 she was named a marketing manager in the office products branch. D knew about P's relationship with Matt Blum well before her appointment as a manager. P met Blum in 1976 when he was an account manager for DD. That they were dating was widely known within the organization. In 1977 Blum left to join QYX, a D competitor, and was transferred to Philadelphia. When Blum returned to San Francisco in the summer of 1978, D personnel were aware that he and P began dating again. P got a $ 4,000 merit raise in 1979. A week later, her manager, Callahan, told her to stop dating Blum or lose her job and said she had a 'couple of days to a week' to think about it. The next day Callahan called her in again, told her 'he had made up her mind for her,' and when she protested, dismissed her. D and Callahan claim that he merely 'transferred' P to another division. P sued D for wrongful discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress. P got the verdict for $100,000 in compensatory and $200,000 in punitive damages.

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