Business Torts, including Fraud and Tortious Interference claims

Business torts are civil wrongs that can include fraud and tortious interference and can cause economic loss or reputational harm to a business.

Here are some examples of business torts:

• Fraudulent misrepresentation
• When someone knowingly makes a false statement to lead another person to rely on it, causing harm or loss
• Tortious interference
• When someone intentionally damages another business’s relationship with someone else, such as through unethical conduct, extortion, or coercion
• Theft of trade secrets
• When someone steals or uses trade secrets without permission
• Defamation
• When someone spreads an untrue statement that harms another person’s reputation
• Conversion

Tortious Interference

It may be considered tortious interference when someone intentionally interferes with someone else’s business. If, for example, two competing companies work with a service provider and one company convinces the service provider to cut ties with the other company to give them an advantage, it may be considered tortious inference with the contract.

To prevail on a claim for tortious interference with prospective business relations, a plaintiff must establish that.

• There was a reasonable probability that the plaintiff would have entered into a business relationship with a third party;
• The defendant either acted with a conscious desire to prevent the relationship from occurring or knew the interference was confident or substantially specific to occur as a result of the conduct;
• The defendant’s conduct was independently tortious or unlawful;
• The interference proximately caused the plaintiff injury
• The plaintiff suffered actual damage or loss as a result.

Many other items fall under business torts, but these common examples illustrate this area of law. When a plaintiff brings a business tort case, they can sue for economic and punitive damages, depending on the situation. If the court rules in their favor, they may require the offender to pay the plaintiff some sort of compensation and/or order an injunction against the offender to force it to stop whatever action brought about the lawsuit.

COVID-19 has brought torts back into the news as businesses worry about how the virus will impact their company and industry. Texas and the federal government are considering legislation to limit what businesses can be sued for during the pandemic. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep our clients updated on essential changes to the law.

Contact Paul N Jones Law Firm Today

If your business’s livelihood is threatened, you need an experienced attorney to help get it back on track. Paul N Jones is here to help. Our business litigation lawyer has over 20 years of commercial litigation experience and can help protect you and your business.