Opinion ID: 6336956
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Tortious Interference and Civil Conspiracy

Text: Likewise, Progressive’s tortious interference claim cannot support the injunction. We need not address the likelihood of success for this claim. For even if Progressive has a fair chance of prevailing on this claim, Progressive fails to show any irreparable harm resulting from it. Progressive alleges it suffered lost contractual relationships and business expectancies with four school districts, but it does not show its harm is irreparable here.5 The dissent concludes there is irreparable harm only after combining the damages from the tortious interference claim with the damages from the noncompete agreement violation claim. But mixing these claims is improper because Progressive is unlikely to succeed on the noncompete agreement violation claim. And juries are routinely asked to calculate damages arising from ordinary breaches of contract, which are the damages Progressive alleges arose from the tortious interference claim. Progressive’s failure to show irreparable harm on this tortious interference claim bars preliminary injunctive relief. 6 See Sessler, 990 F.3d at 1156. Finally, we conclude the district court also abused its discretion by issuing this preliminary injunction based on Progressive’s civil conspiracy claim. In Arkansas, civil conspiracy “is not a separate tort and must be based on the underlying tort[i]ous activity.” Varner v. Peterson Farms, 371 F.3d 1011, 1016 (8th Cir. 2004). Chaffin’s or Chaffin Holdings’ underlying tortious activity, if any, does not support this preliminary injunction because Progressive does not show that any harm 5 Progressive seemed to understand its harm was reparable when it filed its complaint. Under the tortious interference count, Progressive alleged it was “entitled to recover its damages from Defendants in an amount to be proven at trial.” It did not allege, as it did under its breach of noncompete agreement count, that the harm was irreparable and that damages were inadequate. 6 Even if the harm resulting from Chaffin’s alleged tortious interference was irreparable, the preliminary injunction here is not narrowly tailored to address the harms arising from the tortious interference. -8- resulting from the underlying tortious activity is irreparable. Progressive is thus not entitled to injunctive relief on the civil conspiracy claim.