Tortious interference with business expectancies or contractual relations claims are difficult to make. Tortious interference in Missouri has five elements: (1) the plaintiff was involved in a valid business relationship; (2) the defendant was aware of that relationship; (3) the defendant intentionally interfered with that relationship, inducing its termination; (4) the defendant acted without justification; and…
Legal Articles
Absence of Justification: Tortious Interference
To prove tortious interference with a contract or business expectancy, one of the requirements is to show an “absence of justification.” Rice v. Hodapp, 919 S.W.2d 240, 245 (Mo. 1996). Generally, “absence of justification” means the absence of any legal right on a defendant’s part to take the complained of actions. Howard v. Youngman, 81 S.W.3d 101,…
Interference with Contract versus Interference with Business Relations
Tortious interference with a contract or business expectancy requires (1) a contract or valid business expectancy, (2) defendant’s knowledge of the contract or relationship, (3) a breach induced or caused by defendant’s intentional interference, (4) absence of justification and (5) damages. Bishop & Assocs., LLC v. Ameren Corp., 520 S.W.3d 463, 472 (Mo. 2017). While not…
Physician Staff Privileges and Tortious interference with Business Expectancy
Tortious interference is a commonly misunderstood and applied claim. It requires 1) a valid business expectancy, 2) defendant’s knowledge of the expectancy, 3) intentional interference by the defendant inducing or causing a breach of the expectancy, 4) absence of justification, and 5) damages. Misischia v. St. John’s Mercy Med. Ctr., 30 S.W.3d 848, 863 (Mo. Ct….
Valid Business Expectancies for Tortious Interference
Tortious interference with business expectancy consists of the (1) existence of a valid business expectancy; (2) knowledge of the expectancy by the party being sued; (3) intentional interference which induced breach of the expectancy; (4) absence of justification; and (5) damages. The existence of a valid business expectancy is usually one of the more tricky…