Distinct from interference with an existing contract, this claim protects relationships that had not yet matured into agreements.
Elements. A valid business expectancy; the defendant’s knowledge of it; intentional interference inducing termination of the expectancy; and resulting damage.
Expectancy must be more than a hope. A specific relationship with an identified third party, with a reasonable likelihood of a deal, is required. Generalised claims about lost market opportunity fail.
Improper conduct. Most states require conduct that is independently wrongful — fraud, defamation, threats, violation of a statute, breach of a fiduciary duty — rather than mere competitive activity. Competition alone, however aggressive, is privileged.
The competition privilege. A competitor who does not use wrongful means, who does not act solely out of spite, and whose conduct concerns a competitor’s prospective relation rather than an existing contract, is protected.
Interference with an existing contract is easier to establish, because inducing a breach is itself improper in most formulations.
Damages. Lost profits from the specific expectancy, proved with reasonable certainty, which is the practical limitation on these claims.
Defensive practice. Businesses recruiting customers from competitors should avoid disparagement, misuse of confidential information, and inducing breach of existing agreements.