Tortious Interference with a Contract as a Cause of Action in New York

Tortious Interference with a Contract

“To plead a claim for tortious interference with a contract, a plaintiff must allege the existence of a valid contract between the plaintiff and a third party, defendant’s knowledge of that contract, defendant’s intentional procurement of the third-party’s breach of the contract without justification, actual breach of the contract, and damages resulting therefrom. (Lama Holding Co. v Smith Barney Inc., 88 NY2d 413, 424 [1996]; accord Oddo Asset Mgt. v Barclays Bank PLC, 19 NY3d 584, 594 [2012], rearg denied 19 NY3d 1065.) Specifically, a plaintiff must allege that the contract would not have been breached but for the defendant’s conduct. (Burrowes v Combs, 25 AD3d 370, 373 [1st Dept 2006], lv denied 7 NY3d 704; accord Carlyle, LLC v Quik Park 1633 Garage LLC, 160 AD3d 476, 477 [1st Dept 2018].)” Harman Agency, Inc. v. Wilhelmina Licensing, LLC, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 33409 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2020).