Business Lawsuit — Can I stop my competitor from pressuring my customers?

Two years ago, I started a new business selling equipment. My former employer is a current competitor. I recently learned that this former employer has instructed one of my key customers, a mutual customer, to discontinue buying products. The stated reason for my former employer's demand is that s/he dislikes me. My former employer has sufficient market share and leverage to make such demands. My customer had been buying products from me for two years but now has stopped based upon my former employer's demands. In some instances, my customer has gone directly to the manufacturer for products, bypassing me to avoid jeopardizing his/her relationship with my former employer. Do I have any potential legal claims against my former employer?

Under Wisconsin law, you may have several potential business tort claims against your former employer and certain other persons or businesses, according to Johns, Flaherty & Collins litigation attorney Thomas H. Taylor. As a general rule, Wisconsin law prohibits persons and businesses from tortiously interfering with the contracts and prospective business relationships of others; engaging in anti-trust and other civil conspiracies that have the purpose or effect of creating monopolies, reducing competition, or restraining trade; and conspiring to willfully or maliciously injure another person's reputation, trade or business.

“The merits of your potential claims depend upon a careful assessment of all of the facts and circumstances, not to mention the availability of favorable testimony from customers pressured and coerced by your former employer,” said Taylor. He recommends consulting with an attorney with significant experience representing persons and businesses in commercial and business tort litigation to determine whether you have a viable claim.

For more information about business and commercial tort litigation, contact Tom Taylor at 608-784-5678.