F. Browne Gregg, Sr., and Juanita O. Gregg - Page 18




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          claim were received on account of personal injuries within the               
          meaning of section 104(a)(2).  Accordingly, we sustain                       
          respondent’s determination on this issue.                                    

               3.  Petitioner’s Compensatory Damages for Interference With             
               a Business Relationship                                                 
               Tortious interference with a business relationship is part              
          of a larger body of tort law aimed at protecting relationships,              
          some economic (for example, interference with prospective                    
          economic advantage) and some personal (for example, interference             
          with family relations, or libel and slander).  Keeton et al.,                
          Prosser & Keeton on Torts, sec. 129, at 978 and nn.5 and 6 (5th              
          ed. 1984).  Under Florida law, tortious interference with a                  
          business relationship is “basically the same cause of action” as             
          interference with a contract.  Smith v. Ocean State Bank, 335                
          So. 2d 641, 642 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1976).                                  
               Petitioner’s claim of tortious interference with a business             
          relationship required proof of each of the following three                   
          elements:  (1) The existence of a business relationship under                
          which the plaintiff has legal rights; (2) an intentional and                 
          unjustified interference with the relationship by the defendant;             
          and (3) damage to the plaintiff as a result of the tortious                  
          interference with the relationship.  Gregg v. U.S. Indus., Inc.,             
          887 F.2d 1462, 1473 (11th Cir. 1989).                                        
               Petitioner’s complaint in the third jury trial focused                  
          almost entirely on the economic injury petitioner suffered as a              
          consequence of USI’s interference with his business relationship             


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