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What are the elements to prove a tortious interference case?

On Behalf of | Mar 23, 2022 | Business Litigation |

In business, there are many ways that things can go wrong, but if something goes south because of the malicious actions of another person or entity, the law offers you ways to handle that. Before you rush off to court, though, you should make sure that your case has a chance of being successful.

One situation you might find yourself in is claiming tortious interference. According to the Legal Information Institute, tortious interference is when you wish to get damages against someone or some entity that was attempting to interfere with your business relationships formed under contracts.

Burden of proof

The burden of proof in this type of case solely lies on you. That means you must prove within the boundaries of the law that the other person was in the wrong.

Elements

There are four elements that you must prove to the court to win your case:

  1. You must show that the other person’s actions caused you some type of loss or injury.
  2. You have to prove that the situation involved a contract that was valid and operational.
  3. You also need to show the other party knew about the contract and its enforcement.
  4. Finally, you have to show the actions of the other party were intentional and deliberate so as to cause you harm.

If you are not able to show all four elements, the court may not rule in your favor.

Keep in mind that a tortious interference case is a civil matter. That means that if the court does rule in your favor, it can order the other party to stop doing certain things, to do certain things and to pay you damages.

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