Attorneys for a man accused of waterboarding an employee as a motivational exercise are asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit against him and his company, saying that under Utah law, such complaints can only be filed under the aegis of the Workers Compensation Act.

Hudgens alleged that in May 2007, Christopherson, his former supervisor at Prosper, had other employees hold him down while Christopherson poured a gallon jug of water over his face to simulate drowning.

Waterboarding is a controversial interrogation technique in which a subject is placed on his back with his head tilted down while water is poured over his mouth and nose to induce a sensation of drowning. Its use by the United States against terrorism suspects has sparked international outrage and has been the subject of heated debate in Congress. Some governments consider waterboarding to be torture.

Prosper acknowledges that the incident occurred, but said Hudgens volunteered to take part in the motivational exercise.

Hudgens said he suffered long-term psychological distress over the incident, including sleeplessness and nightmares, and has been undergoing counseling. He said the waterboarding incident compelled him to quit his job at Prosper. He sued Prosper on four counts, including assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination.

An employee cannot sue an employer outside the framework of the Workers Compensation Act unless he is alleging that the employer intended to inflict harm, Schmutz said, a claim that Hudgens's complaint does not include. The lawsuit states that Christopherson told employees he wanted a volunteer for an unspecified motivational exercise, and that afterward, he told the other employees that he wanted them to work as hard at making sales as Hudgens was working to breathe.

Schmutz said the exercise was done "to create motivation and to challenge and test loyalty and determination, not to cause injury."

"The allegations are that he intended this to be a motivational exercise," Schmutz said.

Hudgens's attorney, Sean Egan, defended the merits of the lawsuit. Egan said that the purpose of waterboarding is to simulate sensations of drowning, and pointed out that Christopherson ordered other employees to hold Hudgens down so he could not get free while Christopherson poured water over his face.

"He knew that Chad was suffocating. He knew that Chad was panicked and disoriented. That's the injury," Egan said. "The problem is, he didn't understand how much more damage that caused."

Stott said he would issue a ruling on the motion to dismiss after considering the arguments.

Stott did rule on one issue, granting Schmutz's motion to dismiss the fourth count against Christopherson, which was for intentional interference with contractual relations. Egan argued that Christopherson interfered with Hudgens's contractual relations with Prosper by forcing him to quit. Schmutz said that law is only applicable if the defendant is not affiliated with either party, and Stott agreed that Christopherson was acting as an employee of Prosper at the time of the waterboarding incident.

Schmutz also said he disagreed with the characterization of the incident as waterboarding, saying the term implies interrogation or a military component.

Prosper, which is located in Provo, describes itself as an educational and coaching business that assists people who are looking for ways to get out of debt or increase their income.

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it