Ultramar Energy Ltd. v. Chase Manhattan Bank

I agree with the majority that the IAS court correctly dismissed the second cause of action for tortious interference with contract. A party is, after all, privileged to interfere with performance of a contract in order to protect a right equal or superior to the plaintiff’s, inasmuch as such a showing would overcome the element of malice which is necessary to such a claim (Felsen v Sol Cafe Mfg. Corp., 24 NY2d 682). "Such a cause of action requires the existence of a valid contract *594between the plaintiff and a third party, the defendant’s knowledge of that contract, and its intentional…