Tortious Interference Requires Intent to Harm
Defamation is a Covered Personal Injury Tortious Interference with Business Is Not
Post 5031
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Robert Hole, M.D., appealed from the March 3, 2023 order granting plaintiff State Farm Fire and Casualty Company’s motion for summary judgment denying Dr. Hole coverage under the policy issued by State Farm.
In State Farm Fire And Casualty Company v. Dr. Robert Hole, M.D., and Dr. Michael Russonella, D.O., and North Jersey Orthopaedic And Sports Medicine Institute, LLC, No. A-2522-22, Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division (March 21, 2025) a lawsuit filed against Dr. Hole by Michael Russonella, D.O. that alleged Dr. Hole made false statements regarding Dr. Russonella’s alleged misconduct at St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic.
Dr. Hole sought coverage from his insurer, State Farm, to defend the action. The central question in this matter is whether State Farm was required to defend the action and indemnify Dr. Hole once the tortious interference count was the only remaining claim.
Initially Dr. Russonella sued Dr. Hole only alleging defamation. State Farm defended Dr. Hole under a reservation of rights. Because of the potential for an excess verdict and the punitive damages alleged, the letter also advised Dr. Hole of his right to obtain personal counsel and that State Farm’s “defense of this action by the attorney on your behalf is not to be considered a waiver of such policy defense or of any policy defenses which may be involved in this suit.”
In September 2017, the trial court dismissed Dr. Russonella’s defamation complaint as untimely under the statute of limitations. Dr. Russonella subsequently filed an amended complaint alleging tortious interference with business.
State Farm sued seeking declaratory relief claiming it had no duty to defend or indemnify Dr. Hole regarding the claims asserted by Dr. Russonella. It asserted Dr. Russonella alleged Dr. Hole “intentionally “interfered with his business relationships. State Farm further asserted that in allegedly making “untrue” and “malicious[]” statements “targeted to injure Dr…. Russonella” that Dr. Hole knew were “untrue,” “the policy exclusion for personal and advertising injury arising out of oral or written publication of material . . . with knowledge of its falsity precludes coverage.”
When the facts present a single, unavoidable resolution and the evidence is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law, then a trial court should grant summary judgment. Dr. Hole argued a tortious interference claim “does not require an intention to cause the injury alleged.” Rather, he asserts “the intent required in tortious interference claims is an intent to interfere.”
ANALYSIS
The interpretation of an insurance policy, like any contract, is a question of law.
Coverage provisions are to be read broadly, exclusions are to be read narrowly, potential ambiguities must be resolved in favor of the insured, and the policy is to be read in a manner that fulfills the insured’s reasonable expectations. By contrast, if the plain language of the policy is unambiguous, the court will not engage in a strained construction to support the imposition of liability or write a better policy for the insured than the one purchased.
A complaint based on tortious interference must allege facts claiming that the interference was done intentionally and with “malice”. Malice is defined to mean that the harm was inflicted intentionally and without justification or excuse.
A tortious interference cause of action is an excluded claim because not only does the tort require intentional interference, it also further requires malice or an intent that the harm was inflicted intentionally. That is, the tortious interference claim intrinsically includes an intent to harm.
The Appellate Division concluded that trial court did not err in concluding Dr. Hole was not entitled to coverage under the State Farm policy.
Even though State Farm initially provided a defense for the defamation claim, it was not required to also defend Dr. Hole because the amended complaint for tortious interference alleged similar facts but supported intentional conduct.
ZALMA OPINION
Liability insurance provides defense and/or indemnity only for fortuitous conduct. Intentional acts are excluded by every liability insurance policy since providing such coverage would encourage wrongful or illegal conduct. The court concluded, properly, that although the defamation claim was a fortuitous loss the tortious interference claim required intentional conduct, was not fortuitous, and State Farm was entitled to a judgment it owed no defense or indemnity to Dr. Hole after it successfully protected him from the Defamation claim.
(c) 2025 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Post 5222
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Hertz Succesfully Refuses to Pay Alleged Fraudulent Health Care Providers
Post 5222
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/man-bites-dog-story-hertz-sues-alleged-fraudsters-zalma-esq-cfe-efbgc, see the video at and at and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
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Plaintiff moved for a default judgment against defendants Alignment Chiropractic, P.C., and many other alleged health care providers.
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Hector David Campoverde was injured at a Brooklyn construction site in 2015. Campoverde was an employee of Vazquez Bro Restoration Inc., a subcontractor for C.C.C. Renovation Inc., which was itself a subcontractor for general contractor L&M Builders Group LLC. In Starr Indemnity & Liability Company v. Scottsdale Insurance Company, No. 24-CV-3309 (PKC) (TAM), United States District Court, E.D. New York (September 30, 2025) was asked to determine whether one or more of the involved insurers is obligated to indemnify Campoverde, and in what order Camporverde can receive indemnity, from one or more insurer.
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Post 5219
Posted on October 31, 2025 by Barry Zalma
An Insurance claims professionals should be a person who:
Can read and understand the insurance policies issued by the insurer.
Understands the promises made by the policy.
Understand their obligation, as an insurer’s claims staff, to fulfill the promises made.
Are competent investigators.
Have empathy and recognize the difference between empathy and sympathy.
Understand medicine relating to traumatic injuries and are sufficiently versed in tort law to deal with lawyers as equals.
Understand how to repair damage to real and personal property and the value of the repairs or the property.
Understand how to negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement with the insured that is fair and reasonable to both the insured and the insurer.
How to Create Claims Professionals
To avoid fraudulent claims, claims of breach of contract, bad faith, punitive damages, unresolved losses, and to make a profit, insurers ...
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The Insurance Industry Needs to Implement Excellence in Claims Handling or Fail
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This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry. This statement of my philosophy on claims handling starts with my history as a claims adjuster, insurance defense and coverage lawyer and insurance claims handling expert.
My Training to be an Insurance Claims Adjuster
When I was discharged from the US Army in 1967 I was hired as an insurance adjuster trainee by a professional and well respected insurance company. The insurer took a chance on me because I had been an Army Intelligence Investigator for my three years in the military and could use that training and experience to be a basis to become a professional insurance adjuster.
I was initially sat at a desk reading a text-book on insurance ...
The History Behind the Creation of a Claims Handling Expert
The Insurance Industry Needs to Implement Excellence in Claims Handling or Fail
Post 5210
This is a change from my normal blog postings. It is my attempt. in more than one post, to explain the need for professional claims representatives who comply with the basic custom and practice of the insurance industry. This statement of my philosophy on claims handling starts with my history as a claims adjuster, insurance defense and coverage lawyer and insurance claims handling expert.
My Training to be an Insurance Claims Adjuster
When I was discharged from the US Army in 1967 I was hired as an insurance adjuster trainee by a professional and well respected insurance company. The insurer took a chance on me because I had been an Army Intelligence Investigator for my three years in the military and could use that training and experience to be a basis to become a professional insurance adjuster.
I was initially sat at a desk reading a text-book on insurance ...
