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Legal Justification or Privilege as a Defense to Tortious Interference Claims

Feb 24, 2013

Justification or excuse is an affirmative defense to a tortious interference claim.

Legal justification or privilege is an affirmative defense to tortious interference with contract. "The party asserting this privilege does not deny the interference but rather seeks to avoid liability based upon a claimed interest that is being impaired or destroyed by the plaintiff's contract." Under this defense, "one is privileged to interfere with another's contract (1) if it is done in a bona fide exercise of his own rights, or (2) if he has an equal or superior right in the subject matter to that of the other party." See Sterner v. Marathon Oil Co., 767 S.W.2d 686, 689-91 (Tex. 1989).

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