LEGAL PRINCIPLE: TORT LAW — Unlawful Interference with Business — Elements — Requirement of Unlawful Means
PRINCIPLE STATEMENT
The tort of unlawful interference with business requires the use of unlawful means; inducing a breach of contract constitutes unlawful means.
RATIO DECIDENDI (SOURCE)
Per Ogundare, JSC, in Sparkling Breweries Limited & Ors v. Union Bank of Nigeria Limited (2001) NLC-1131996(SC) at pp. 17–18; Paras D–A.
"The tort of unlawful interference with the business of another consists in one person using unlawful means with the aim and effect of causing damage to another. To constitute the tort the means used must be unlawful otherwise the tort is not established. As Viscount Radcliffe put it in J. T. Stratford & Son Ltd. v. Lindley (1965) AC 269 at pages 328–329 of the report: 'The case comes before us as one in which the defendants have inflicted injury on the plaintiffs in the conduct of their business and have resorted to unlawful means to bring this about. It cannot be denied that to induce breaches of contract is to employ unlawful means.'"
EXPLANATION / SCOPE
Unlawful interference with business requires: (1) unlawful means; (2) intention to cause damage; (3) actual damage. Inducing a breach of contract is a recognised form of unlawful means. The defendant must have knowledge of the contract and intentionally procure its breach. The tort protects contractual and business relationships from intentional interference. The means must be independently unlawful—not merely competition. The plaintiff must prove that the interference was intentional, not merely negligent. The principle balances protection of business interests with legitimate competition. The tort is actionable even if no contract is breached, provided unlawful means are used.