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Trau-Med of America3/25/2002
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
This case comes before us pursuant to a Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6) motion to dismiss and requires us to review the trial court's dismissal of two claims: tortious interference with a business relationship and intracorporate civil conspiracy. In making our decision today, we review only the legal sufficiency of the plaintiff's cause of action, and we make no comment as to whether the allegations may be supported by proof as there is no evidence before us at this stage. For purposes of this appeal, we take as true the following allegations of fact drawn from the complaint.
As alleged in the complaint, Trau-Med of America, Inc. [hereinafter "Trau-Med"], a Tennessee corporation located in Memphis, is one of several physician practice management companies operating in Shelby County. The primary purpose of these companies is to make medical care more accessible to the public, especially to uninsured and indigent personal injury victims. As one source of business, Trau-Med accepts referrals from attorneys representing uninsured personal injury victims who are otherwise unable to afford medical care. In turn, Trau-Med contracts to provide administrative services to licensed medical doctors who treat such "indigent victims of trauma with meritorious claims for personal injury." Trau-Med is then compensated for its services after the victims either settle their claims or receive the proceeds of a judgment following litigation.
On November 10, 1998, Trau-Med filed suit collectively against Allstate Insurance Company [hereinafter "Allstate"], its employees, and its agents. In its complaint, Trau-Med alleges that Allstate purposefully attacked the plaintiff's lawful business by making libelous statements and by creating defamatory documents for the purpose of ruining its reputation in the legal community. Specifically, the complaint avers that Allstate, "wishing to control the activity of claimants with legitimate personal injuries and without the intervention of licensed attorneys, devised a scheme with its agents/employees . . . to limit access to health care for injured persons in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, and thus control and limit their claims expenses."
Trau-Med also alleges that Allstate directed the attorneys hired to defend its policyholders to file defamatory motions accusing Trau-Med of the following unlawful conduct: practicing medicine in violation of Tennessee law, administering physical therapy services in violation of Tennessee law, and employing unlicensed physical therapists. The complaint further avers that Allstate conspired with its agents and employees to destroy Trau-Med, as well as other similar clinics and medical organizations, and in fact circulated among its employees a "hit list" of these targeted clinics. Allstate's agents allegedly relied on this list to inform plaintiffs' attorneys that they would "get" Trau-Med and that Trau-Med is "next" on the list of targets. Moreover, Allstate's agents are alleged to have implied that all claimants who do receive medical treatment from Trau-Med can expect to be "embroiled in unnecessary and expensive litigation."
Finally, Trau-Med avers that Allstate's actions have received "wide publication in the legal profession especially with attorneys who represent injured claimants, [and have] taken a form of intimidation by raising concern with attorneys about the propriety of [Trau-Med's] business." Further, Allstate's false and defamatory allegations have "brought about great economic loss, [have] frightened and demoralized its employees and independent contractor physicians and caused irreparable damage to [Trau-Med's] reputation and prospective economic adv
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