Della Penna v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Toyota (defendant) sent its dealers a letter identifying Della Penna (plaintiff) and others as "offenders" for exporting Lexuses to Japan in violation of dealership agreements, warning that doing business with listed dealers could bring Toyota sanctions; Della Penna's Japanese resale partners then stopped doing business with him, and he sued for tortious interference with economic relations. The trial court instructed the jury that Della Penna had to prove Toyota's interference was wrongful, and the jury found for Toyota, but the court of appeal reversed, holding wrongfulness was not a required element.