Opinion ID: 157914
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Claims for Intentional Interference with Contractual and

Text: Business Relations 37 The District also argues that, even if Moody's article constitutes an opinion protected by the First Amendment, the district court still erred in dismissing the state law claims for intentional interference with contract and for intentional interference with prospective business relations. According to the School District, these claims are directed at Moody's conduct rather than at its speech. Arguing that numerous courts have rejected First Amendment challenges to laws that regulate conduct and have merely incidental effects on protected speech, see e.g., Cohen v. Cowles Media, Co., 501 U.S. 663, 669, 111 S.Ct. 2513, 115 L.Ed.2d 586 (1991), the School District maintains that its intentional interference claims should be allowed to proceed to trial. Because the School District argument raises legal questions, we review the district court's decision de novo. City of Wichita v. United States Gypsum Co., 72 F.3d 1491, 1495 (10th Cir.1996). 38 The School District's argument is undermined by the Supreme Court's decision in Hustler Magazine v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46, 108 S.Ct. 876, 99 L.Ed.2d 41 (1988). In that case, a public figure asserted claims for libel and for intentional infliction of emotional distress against a magazine that had published an offensive parody. The jury returned a verdict for the defendant magazine on the libel claim, finding that the parody could not be reasonably read as describing actual facts about the plaintiff. However, the jury found for the plaintiff on the emotional distress claim, awarding actual and punitive damages. 39 The Supreme Court concluded that, in light of the jury's rejection of the libel claim, the emotional distress claim was barred by the First Amendment. It held that public figures and public officials may not recover for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress by reason of publications such as the one here at issue without showing in addition that the publication contains a false statement of fact which was made with 'actual malice,' i.e. with knowledge that the statement was false or with reckless disregard as to whether or not it was true. Hustler Magazine, 485 U.S. at 56, 108 S.Ct. 876. In supporting this conclusion, the Court noted the chilling effect on protected speech that might ensue if damages could be recovered on emotional distress claims for publications that were not provably false. See id. at 53-55, 108 S.Ct. 876. 40 Lower federal courts have applied a similar approach, rejecting a variety of tort claims based on speech protected by the First Amendment. For example, in Unelko, 912 F.2d at 1057-58 (9th Cir.1990), the Ninth Circuit held that state law claims for trade libel and tortious interference with business relationships were subject to the same First Amendment requirements as claims for defamation. Because the plaintiff had failed to rebut the defendant's evidence that the challenged publication contained no false statements of fact, the court concluded that summary judgment was proper on the non-defamation tort claims as well. Id. at 1058. Similarly, in Henderson v. Times Mirror Co., 669 F.Supp. 356, 362 (D.Colo.1987), aff'd, 876 F.2d 108 (10th Cir.1989), the court dismissed claims for disparagement and intentional interference with contract because they were based on an expression of opinion protected by the First Amendment. See also South Dakota v. Kansas City Southern Industries, 880 F.2d 40, 50-54 (8th Cir.1989) (concluding that the plaintiff could not bring a claim for tortious interference with contract because the claim was based on the defendant's filing of a lawsuit, an activity protected by the First Amendment); Eddy's Toyota of Wichita, Inc. v. Kmart Corp., 945 F.Supp. 220, 224 (D.Kan.1996) (concluding that letters that constituted expressions of opinion protected by the First Amendment could not form the basis for plaintiff's tortious interference with contact claim.). 41 The School District attempts to distinguish Hustler Magazine and these lower court decisions by arguing that its allegations against Moody's are directed at conduct rather than speech. It maintains that the publication of the article in Rating News was part of a pattern of conduct in which Moody's issued such ratings in order to retaliate against bond issuers who chose not to hire Moody's to rate their bonds. Thus, according to the School District, Moody's conduct amounts to a series of decisions to publish negative ratings at particular times. 42 Tellingly, the School District cites no authority in support of the proposition that a decision to engage in protected speech at a particular time constitutes conduct that may be regulated by means of state tort actions for interference with contract or business relations. In our view, the School District's contention is inconsistent with applicable First Amendment principles. In particular, as noted in Hustler Magazine, the Supreme Court has concluded that even when a speaker is motivated by hatred or illwill his expression [is] protected by the First Amendment. Hustler Magazine, 485 U.S. at 53, 108 S.Ct. 876 (citing Garrison v. Lousiana, 379 U.S. 64, 73, 85 S.Ct. 209, 13 L.Ed.2d 125 (1964)). To allow a plaintiff to establish a tort claim by proving merely that a particular motive accompanied protected speech, the Court reasoned, might well inhibit the robust debate that the First Amendment seeks to protect. See id. at 51-53, 85 S.Ct. 209. Yet, under the School District's reading of state tort law governing its claims for interference with contractual and business relations, the protection afforded to an expression of opinion under the First Amendment might well depend on a trier of fact's determination of whether the individual who had published the article was motivated by a legitimate desire to express his or her view or by a desire to interfere with a contract. 43 Moreover, the School District's argument finds little support in Colorado law. In Colorado, a plaintiff asserting claims for intentional interference with contract and intentional interference with prospective business relations must establish that the interference was intentional and improper. See Amoco Oil Co. v. Ervin, 908 P.2d 493, 500 (Colo.1995) (en banc); Westfield Dev. Co. v. Rifle Investment Assoc., 786 P.2d 1112, 1117 (Colo.1990). Whether the interference is improper depends on the following factors:  (a) the nature of the actor's conduct; (b) the actor's motive; (c) the interests of the other with which the actor's conduct interferes; (d) the interests sought to be advanced by the actor; (e) the social interests in protecting the freedom of the actor and the contractual interests of the other; (f) the proximity or remoteness of the actor's conduct to the interference; and (g) the relations between the parties. Amoco Oil Co., 908 P.2d at 500 (quoting Restatement (Second) of Torts § 767 (1979)). 44 Although the actor's motive is listed as one relevant factor, the decisions of Colorado courts do not support the School District's contention that Moody's allegedly retaliatory motive may itself render the publication of a constitutionally protected opinion an improper interference with a contract or with prospective business relations. Contrary to the School District's suggestion, in instances in which a plaintiff's tortious interference claims are based on lawful conduct or speech, the courts have concluded that such lawful activity is insufficient to establish the required element of improper conduct. 45 For example, in Martin v. Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1, 841 P.2d 237, 251 (Colo.1992) (en banc), the court affirmed the grant of summary judgment on a tortious inference with contract claim based on an allegedly illegal strike. The court reasoned that because the strike was legal under the state industrial relations statutes, the plaintiff could not prevail on the tort claim. Similarly, in Amoco Oil, in reversing a jury verdict on a claim for intentional interference with prospective business relations, the court observed that  'an actor may use persuasion ...' without engaging in wrongful means. Amoco, 908 P.2d at 502 (quoting Restatement of Torts (Second) § 768 cmt. e (1979)). 46 We acknowledge that neither Martin nor Amoco involves precisely the kinds of claims at issue here-allegations of tortious interference based on a statement of opinion protected by the First Amendment. Nevertheless, the fact that neither lawful strikes nor the persuasive efforts of a business competitor constitutes improper interference suggests that the expression of an opinion protected by the First Amendment is similarly insufficient. 47 Accordingly, we conclude that the district court properly entered judgment in favor of Moody's on the School District's claims for intentional interference with contract and with prospective business relations.