Prime Company and Jerry Salemi v. Wilkinson & Snowden, Inc. and Eugene Woods

This case involves a claim for procurement of breach of contract. The plaintiff real estate firm sued the defendant real estate firm for procurement of breach of a real estate listing contract. A bench trial was conducted. At the close of the plaintiffs’ proof, the defendants moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims. The trial court noted that, in order to prove procurement of breach of contract, the plaintiffs were required to prove that the defendants acted with “malice.” In order to prove “malice,” the trial court held that the plaintiffs were required to prove that the defendants were “motivated by ill will, hatred or spite.” The trial court found that the plaintiffs had not submitted evidence that the defendants were motivated by ill will, hatred or spite, and therefore held that the plaintiffs could not prove that element of their claim. The plaintiffs’ claim for procurement of breach was dismissed. The plaintiffs now appeal. We reverse, finding that in order to prove malice in this context, the plaintiffs were not required to prove ill will, hatred or spite.