To even the most sophisticated business person, a business tort is not a familiar term. They may even confuse it with a dessert. Unlike a pastry torte, a business tort can derail the progress of an emerging company and cost it a great deal of money in future losses. As such, businesses can be sued in California under several different claims.
This post will highlight a few of them.
Interference with contractual relations – This claim is based on the accusation that one business knew about the contractual relationship between the plaintiff and another business, and that the defendant business acted intentionally in a manner that was designed to cause the contract to be breached.
Interference with prospective business advantage – This claim is based on the notion that an economic relationship that has been formed, but has not yet been formalized in a contract, has been interfered with by a third party. This claim requires the plaintiff to show that a defendant knew about the plaintiff’s relationship, that the defendant engaged in intentional acts to disrupt the relationship, that an actual disruption between the two occurred, and that the plaintiff was harmed by defendant’s actions.
Fraudulent misrepresentation – The claim of fraudulent misrepresentation (otherwise known as fraud or deceit) is intended to protect the economic interests of a business from false statements or representations by a defendant company. Essentially, if a defendant corporation intentionally made a statement that was materially false, and a plaintiff corporation relied on such a statement and was harmed by it, the plaintiff could seek damages under this claim.