Opinion ID: 55817
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Nationwide's Business Disparagement and Tortious Interference Claims

Text: In addition to its defamation claim, Nationwide brought claims for business disparagement and tortious interference with prospective business relations. A two-year statute of limitations typically applies to those causes of action. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM.CODE § 16.003. However, when allegedly defamatory statements form the sole basis for a plaintiff's tortious interference claim, defamation's one-year statute of limitations applies. See Martinez v. Hardy, 864 S.W.2d 767, 776 (Tex. App.Houston [14th Dist.] 1993, no writ). Likewise, Texas courts have applied a one-year statute of limitations to business disparagement claims when the gravamen of the complaint is defamatory injury to the plaintiff's reputation and there is no evidence of direct pecuniary loss to give rise to special damages. See Hurlbut v. Gulf Atl. Life Ins. Co., 749 S.W.2d 762, 766-67 (Tex.1987). If the damages alleged are primarily personal and general e.g., injury to personal reputation, humiliation, or mental anguish then the cause of action is one for libel or slander, even though incidental or consequential professional losses are also pleaded and proved. New Times, 980 S.W.2d at 710-11. We agree with the district court that the one-year statute of limitations applies. Regarding Nationwide's tortious interference claim, the court noted that Nationwide based the claim on the fact that prospective customers have seen the false statements in the article. Thus, this claim is indistinguishable from Nationwide's defamation claim. See Procter & Gamble Co. v. Amway Corp., 80 F.Supp.2d 639, 657 (S.D.Tex.1999), aff'd in part, reversed in part on other grounds, 242 F.3d 539 (5th Cir.2001). Regarding the business disparagement claim, the district court held that Nationwide failed to provide any meaningful basis upon which to distinguish it from the defamation claim, and that Nationwide failed to allege any specific economic loss. We find no error in this conclusion.