Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp. v. Actelion Ltd.
California Court of Appeal
222 Cal. App. 4th 945 (2014)
Relevant factsFree
Actelion (defendant), a competing drug maker, acquired Asahi's (plaintiff) contracting partner CoTherix specifically because it viewed Asahi's competing drug as a market threat, then discontinued CoTherix's development work under its licensing contract with Asahi; a jury awarded Asahi nearly $580 million for tortious interference, and Actelion argued it could no longer be liable for interference after the acquisition, since it then had its own interest in the contract as CoTherix's parent.
IssueFree
Whether, under tort law, the duty to not interfere with a contract applies only to third parties that are not parties to the contract.
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