What is the scope of the tort of appropriation of corporate opportunity?

The scope of the tort of appropriation of corporate opportunity, which falls under Unfair Competition Law in South Carolina, is when someone takes advantage of an opportunity that should belong to a corporation. To be successful in this tort, three elements must be proven in court. First, it must be shown that there was an opportunity that could be reasonably seen as a potential benefit to the corporation. Second, it must be shown that the opportunity was wrongfully appropriated by someone outside the corporation. Third, the opportunity must be one to which the corporation was entitled, but the outside party was not. If all three elements of the tort are met, then a court can order the person who wrongfully appropriated the opportunity to either pay damages to the corporation for the lost opportunity or to make whole the corporation if the person has actually benefited from the opportunity. For example, if a person takes away a business opportunity that was meant for the corporation, the court could order the person to pay the corporation back for the profits they made from the opportunity. In South Carolina, this tort is called "conversion of corporate opportunity" and is part of the Unfair Competition Law. It is designed to ensure that corporations are not wrongfully deprived of opportunities that could benefit them. It is important to note that the court must determine that the opportunity was misappropriated and not merely a chance occurrence.

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