The Major League Baseball association has filed suit against a prominent clinic for tortious interference, and a local court has refused to see the case thrown out. A Florida court has agreed to not dismiss the suit filed by the MLB against the Biogenesis clinic for actions they say led players to commit breach of contract. The case is largely unprecedented in Florida history and is being dealt with in several unique ways.
Technically speaking, tortious interference involves a third party not associated with a contract committing an act that compels a party involved with the contract to breach it. In this case, the MLB contends that Biogenesis committed tortious interference by allegedly providing performance-enhancing drugs to several prominent athletes. This thereby caused them to act in opposition to the Joint Drug Agreement which forbids the use of such drugs in play.
Part of the reason this case is unique is because tortious interference generally refers to a contract in which two parties agree to do something, not one in which they agree not to. It is somewhat unclear from a strictly legal standpoint if, by allegedly providing steroids to players, Biogenesis is actually committing tortious interference. Depending on the outcome of the case, it is possible the players in question will be suspended from play due to breach of contract and drug use.
Business law can be extremely complicated, especially in scenarios in which a law is challenged or otherwise used in a unique way to suggest wrongdoing. It is beneficial for any Florida resident dealing with a breach of contract suit or any other kind of business disagreement to seek assistance in determining exactly what laws apply to a situation. A fuller understanding of how the law interacts with real-life situations can mean the difference between winning and losing such a case.
Source: sbnation.com, “Report: Florida judge declines to toss Biogenesis suit,” Steven Goldman, June 12, 2013