Popescu

Plaintiff Dan Popescu sued Apple Inc. (Apple) for damages after he was fired by his employer, Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC (Constellium). He alleged that between August and October 2011, Apple took affirmative steps to convince Constellium to terminate him in retaliation for his resistance to Apple’s alleged illegal anticompetitive conduct. The court sustained Apple’s demurrer to Popescu’s first amended complaint (Complaint) without leave to amend.

This appeal involves Popescu’s claim for intentional interference with contractual relations (contract interference) and his claim for intentional interference with prospective economic advantage (business interference). Claims for contract interference and business interference are separate but related torts. The elements of the two claims are substantially the same, but a plaintiff alleging business interference must also show that the defendant’s action “was wrongful ‘by some measure beyond the fact of the interference itself.’ [Citation.]” (Della Penna v. Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. (1995) 11 Cal.4th 376, 393 [ 45 Cal.Rptr.2d 436 , 902 P.2d 740 ] (Delia Penna).) As a general rule, this wrongfulness…