Most business owners understand that competitors are going to compete. Lower prices, better marketing, stronger service. That’s fair game. But there’s a line between legitimate competition and deliberately interfering with someone else’s business relationships, and when that line gets crossed, the law provides a remedy.
Our friends at Volpe Law LLC work through these claims with business owners regularly, and what a business dispute lawyer will tell you is that tortious interference is one of the more misunderstood causes of action in commercial law. Understanding what it actually requires helps you figure out whether what happened to you rises to the level of a viable claim.
What Tortious Interference Actually Means
Tortious interference occurs when a third party intentionally disrupts a business relationship or contract that you have with someone else, causing you measurable harm as a result. There are two main forms of the claim.
Tortious interference with a contract applies when someone knowingly interferes with an existing contractual relationship. A competitor who convinces your supplier to breach their contract with you, or a former employee who poaches clients in violation of a non-solicitation agreement, are both examples of situations where this claim might apply.
Tortious interference with a business relationship or expectancy is broader. It applies even when no formal contract exists, covering situations where someone intentionally disrupts a prospective business relationship you had a reasonable expectation of forming.
What You Have to Prove
Neither version of this claim is easy to establish. Courts require more than showing that someone’s actions hurt your business. The elements typically required include:
- The existence of a valid contract or a reasonably certain business expectancy
- That the defendant knew about that contract or relationship
- That the defendant intentionally and improperly interfered with it
- That the interference actually caused the other party to breach or the relationship to fall apart
- That you suffered measurable damages as a direct result
The word intentionally carries real weight here. Accidental harm to a business relationship generally doesn’t qualify. The interference has to be deliberate, and in most cases it has to involve conduct that goes beyond aggressive but legitimate competition.
What Evidence Builds the Strongest Case
Because intent is so central to these claims, the evidence you gather matters enormously. Communications are often the most valuable place to start. Emails, text messages, or recorded conversations in which the defendant discussed your contracts or business relationships can go a long way toward establishing what they knew and what they intended.
Witness testimony from the party whose relationship was disrupted also carries weight. If your former client or supplier can speak to what they were told and by whom, that testimony can directly support the interference element of your claim. Financial records documenting the business you lost as a result of the interference are equally important, since damages have to be proven with reasonable certainty rather than speculation.
Whether Your Situation Qualifies
Not every situation that feels like interference meets the legal standard. The conduct has to be improper in a specific legal sense, meaning it goes beyond legitimate business activity. An attorney can review the facts of your situation, assess whether the elements are present, and give you an honest picture of whether pursuing a claim makes sense given what you can actually prove. If you believe someone deliberately damaged your business relationships, that conversation is worth having sooner rather than later.