Tortious Interference with Business Relationship and Two Defense Privileges

A cause of action for tortious interference with an advantageous business relationship requires proof of four elements: (1) the existence of a business relationship under which the plaintiff has legal rights; (2) the defendant's knowledge of the relationship; (3) the defendant's intentional and unjustified interference with the relationship; and (4) damages resulting from the breach of the relationship. Weisman v. Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc., 45 Fla. L. Weekly D1140a (Fla. 4th DCA 2020). This tortious interference claim “teeters between two competing values—the desire to protect the reasonable expectations of the parties to a business relationship on the one hand, and the need to...

11 June

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Cause of Action for Tortious Interference with a Business Relationship

Posted by David Adelstein

in Trial Perspectives

Business relationships are important. It is all about relationships in all walks of life! What if someone interferes with your business relationship? What if that interference is intentional or unjustifiable? There is a cause of action known as tortious interference with a business relationship. Monco Enterprises, Inc. v. Ziebart Corp., 673 So.2d 491 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996) (“Tort liability for interference with prospective contractual relationships is generally recognized.”) A plaintiff asserting this cause of action must PROVE the following elements: (1) The existence of a business relationship; (2) The defendant had knowledge of the business relationship; (3) The defendant intentionally and unjustifiably interfered with the...