Is it lawful for a company to hire one of its competitor’s employees? It may seems ludicrous to some to ask this question. But in a recent Texas appellate decision, the court actually considered whether a tortious interference with contract claim to be based upon Company A hiring an at-will employee from Company B. The court held: “A claim...
Continue ReadingAn opinion by the San Antonio Court of Appeals demonstrates that in order to prevail on a claim for tortious interference of contract, the claimant need not prove an outright threat. Certain statements and requests may be sufficient. A salesman was recruited to work for a company by a general manager and a sales manager. Later that year,...
Continue ReadingA recent opinion by the Dallas Court of Appeals demonstrates that conduct in violation of an employment agreement may also constitute tortious interference. In that case, two companies provided in-home nursing care for seriously ill pediatric patients. Several employees of Company A went to work for Company B, including the Chief Operating Officer, a case manager and an...
Continue ReadingA recent opinion by the Dallas Court of Appeals demonstrates that merely inducing a party to a contract to do something that it is permitted to do under the contract generally cannot, standing alone, constitute tortious interference. In that case, a bank held a piece of real property in trust. A partnership executed a contract with the bank to...
Continue ReadingIn Texas, when can a court enjoin speech in order to prevent tortious interference from occurring? There is no easy answer to this question. However, courts generally disfavor “prior restraint”–i.e., forbidding speech even before it occurs. Thus, Texas courts have held that even speech that is false or defamatory cannot be prohibited by court order. Of course, a person...
Continue ReadingIn July 2001, Sysco, a distributor of food service products, issued a Request for Proposal (“RFP”). Among the companies that received the RFP were Mark III and BI. Mark III and BI had a business relationship that involved them sharing information and customers. Unbeknownst to Sysco, their relationship was formalized in a written contract. Mark III and BI submitted a...
Continue ReadingIn tortious interference with contract (or prospective business relations) cases, plaintiffs often contend that their contracts with customers—or employees—have been unlawfully interfered with. In many situations, the contract alleged to have been interfered with is an “at-will” contract (i.e., it is a contract that can be canceled by either party at any time, for any reason). An at-will employment...
Continue ReadingIn our free market economy, it’s a given that competition is a good thing, right? Theoretically, yes, but courts have made it clear that competition, to be lawful, must also be “fair.” A Texas case shed some light on the difference between fair and unlawful competition. Renew Data Corporation ("Renew") provided computer forensic services for corporations. Renew would search...
Continue ReadingIn situations in which an employee leaves one company and goes to work for another, a tortious interference claim may be asserted against the departing employee or the new employer. Tortious interference claims come in two types: tortious interference with (an existing) contract, and tortious interference with prospective business relations. A tortious interference with contract claim has the following...
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