What Is Civil Conspiracy?

Civil conspiracy consists of combining two or more persons to accomplish an unlawful purpose or a lawful purpose by unlawful means. It is a form of joint liability and a derivative of tort law. An action for civil conspiracy has five elements: 

•  a combination of two or more persons;

•  the persons seek to accomplish an object or course of action;

•  the persons reach a meeting of the minds on the object or course of action; 

•  one or more unlawful, overt acts are taken in pursuance of the object or course of action; and 

• damages occur as a proximate result. 

What Is Tortious Interference?

Tortious interference is an intentional interference with a current contractual or prospective business relationship that results in damages. A plaintiff must plead and prove the following elements in order to prevail on a cause of action for tortious interference with an existing contract: 

•  that a valid contract existed;

•  that the defendant had knowledge of the contract;

•  that the defendant acted intentionally and improperly; and 

•  that the plaintiff was injured by the defendant’s actions.

Without a contract, in order to proceed on a claim for tortious interference based on the loss of a prospective business relationship or contract, you must bring substantial proof that demonstrates that the relationship would have become a contract but for the tortious interference. 

What Are The Damages Available For A Tortious Interference Claim?

Given tortious interference is the essence of a breach of contract claim, a plaintiff is entitled to recover compensatory damages and, in exceptional circumstances, punitive damages. Compensatory damages are a money judgement for the following types of damages:

• Lost business profits;

• Expenses incurred from the lost business opportunities;

• Contracts awarded but work was lost;

• Losses from partially completed project;

• Loss of profits from expected future contracts;

• Damage to a plaintiff’s reputation; and

• Irreparable harm to a business relationship.

What Are The Differences Between Defamation, Slander, and Libel?

Defamation, slander, and libel are terms often confused with each other. They are all essentially forms of character assignation which do not fall into a category of protected speech under the United States Constitution. Often, defamation is used as a "catch all" term covering any statement that injures reputation.  The following will clarify whether  something is defamation, slander, or libel:

• What is Defamation? Defamation is a knowingly false statement presented as a fact that causes injury or damage to the character of the person about which the statement is made.  Libel and slander are two types of defamation.  The statement must have been made with knowledge that it was untrue or with reckless disregard for the truth (i.e., no effort was made to validate the questionable statement). 

• What is Slander? Slander is a false defamatory statement spoken orally. For example, falsely saying that someone has "committed a crime" or has an "infectious disease" would be considered slander.

• What is Libel?  Libel is a false defamatory statement that is written or reduced to a tangible expression (e.g., hand written, graffiti, painted, e-mail, etc.). For example, falsely writing in an e-mail that someone has "committed a crime" or has an "infectious disease" would be considered libel.  The primary difference between slander and libel is that slander is oral and libel is written.

What Do You Need To Show To Prove Defamation?

Defamation is a tort, the threshold requirement for which is the publication of a false  statement of fact to a third party. Texas recognizes the common-law rule that defamation is either per se or per quod . Defamation per se occurs when a statement is so obviously detrimental  to one’s good name that a jury may presume general damages, such as for loss of reputation or for  mental anguish. Defamation per quod occurs when a statement is defamatory due to circumstances or context. While the legal definition of defamation may vary slightly from state to state, generally you must plead and prove the following elements:

• Someone made a statement;

• The statement was published;

• The statement caused you injury;

• The statement was false; and

• The statement did not fall into a privileged category.

How Do You Defend A Defamation Suit?

Defending a defamation suit is fairly straightforward, and defaming another person in and of itself does not guarantee that a defamation suit will be successful. People in certain circumstances have the right to defame and say derogatory things about others even if that person may not like what is being said. Although there are several defenses to defamation claims, the most common defense, if proved, would relieve the person making the defamatory statements of all liability:

• Truth is always a defense;

• Opinion  statements alone are not per se defamatory;

• The person agreed to the publication of the defamatory statement;

• The person retracted the allegedly defamatory statement;

• Absolute privilege (e.g., legislative or court proceedings, spousal communications); and

• Qualified privilege (e.g., self defense-related statements, fair critic reviews, testimonies, etc.).