Prosecution without probable cause to punish an individual
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and Canada and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate.(August 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(June 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. Please help improve it to make it understandable to non-experts, without removing the technical details.(September 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)
Part of the common law series
Tort law
(Outline)
Trespass to the person
Assault
Battery
False imprisonment
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Property torts
Trespass
land
chattels
Conversion
Dignitary torts
Appropriation
Defamation
Slander
Libel
False light
Invasion of privacy
Intrusion on seclusion
Breach of confidence
Abuse of process
Malicious prosecution
Sexual torts
Alienation of affections
Criminal conversation
Seduction
Breach of promise
Negligent torts
Negligent infliction of emotional distress
Employment-related
Entrustment
Malpractice
legal
medical
Principles of negligence
Duty of care
Trespassers
Licensees
Invitees
Standard of care
Reasonable person
Proximate cause
Res ipsa loquitur
Restitutio ad integrum
Rescue doctrine
Duty to rescue
Comparative responsibility
Contributory negligence
Attractive nuisance
Strict and absolute liability
Product liability
Ultrahazardous activity
Deep pockets
Nuisance
Public nuisance
Rylands v Fletcher
Economic torts
Conspiracy
Restraint of trade
Insurance bad faith (American law)
Fraud
Tortious interference
Defences
Assumption of risk
Consent
Necessity
Statute of limitations
Self-defense
Defense of others
Defence of property
Shopkeeper's privilege
Neutral reportage
Liability
Intentional torts
Last clear chance
Eggshell skull
Vicarious liability
Respondeat superior
Volenti non fit injuria
Ex turpi causa non oritur actio
Joint and several liability
Market share liability
Transferred intent
Remedies
Damages
Punitive
Special
Incidental
Injunction
Tracing
Detinue
Replevin
Trover
Other topics in tort law
Tort reform
Non-economic damages caps
Quasi-tort
Delict (term used for torts in some civil and mixed legal systems)
Conflict of tort laws
Private attorney general
Class action
By jurisdiction
Australia
Canada
China
England and Wales
European Union
India
Japan
Taiwan
United States
Other common law areas
Contracts
Criminal law
Evidence
Property
Wills, trusts, and estates
Law portal
v
t
e
Malicious prosecution is a common law intentional tort. Like the tort of abuse of process, its elements include (1) intentionally (and maliciously) instituting and pursuing (or causing to be instituted or pursued) a legal action (civil or criminal) that is (2) brought without probable cause and (3) dismissed in favor of the victim of the malicious prosecution. In some jurisdictions, the term "malicious prosecution" denotes the wrongful initiation of criminal proceedings, while the term "malicious use of process" denotes the wrongful initiation of civil proceedings.
Criminal prosecuting attorneys and judges are protected from tort liability for malicious prosecution by doctrines of prosecutorial immunity and judicial immunity. Moreover, the mere filing of a complaint cannot constitute an abuse of process. The parties who have abused or misused the process have gone beyond merely filing a lawsuit. The taking of an appeal, even a frivolous one, is not enough to constitute an abuse of process. The mere filing or maintenance of a lawsuit, even for an improper purpose, is not a proper basis for an abuse of process action.
Declining to expand the tort of malicious prosecution, a unanimous California Supreme Court in the case of Sheldon Appel Co. v. Albert & Oliker, 47 Cal. 3d 863, 873 (1989) observed: "While the filing of frivolous lawsuits is certainly improper and cannot in any way be condoned, in our view the better means of addressing the problem of unjustified litigation is through the adoption of measures facilitating the speedy resolution of the initial lawsuit and authorizing the imposition of sanctions for frivolous or delaying conduct within that first action itself, rather than through an expansion of the opportunities for initiating one or more additional rounds of malicious prosecution litigation after the first action has been concluded."[1]
^Per the case of Lossing v. Superior Court (1989) 207 Cal. App. 3d 635, 638-640[255 Cal. Rptr. 18]; see also Tellefsen v. Key System Transit Lines, supra, 198 Cal.App.2d at p. 615 [Court of Appeal has remedies for frivolous appeals]; Green v. Uccelli (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 1112, 1122-1123 [255 Cal.Rptr. 315]
and 27 Related for: Malicious prosecution information
Maliciousprosecution is a common law intentional tort. Like the tort of abuse of process, its elements include (1) intentionally (and maliciously) instituting...
not proper in the regular prosecution of the proceedings. Abuse of process can be distinguished from maliciousprosecution, in that abuse of process typically...
agents who arrested him for maliciousprosecution. The judge dismissed the case with respect to Aleynikov's federal prosecution, finding that the agents...
public", and yet "malicious falsehood" (Article 297), defined as a false accusation that exposes someone to the risk of prosecution. In Azerbaijan, the...
Specter, that he should focus his attention on his own boss for maliciousprosecution. They offer up Woodall, who plays right into their hand by denying...
the Vians were awarded damages of £414,000 after winning their maliciousprosecution case against the Metropolitan Police. News media phone hacking scandal...
The cost of private prosecution, including potential civil liability for maliciousprosecution, can also deter frivolous prosecutions. Oscar Wilde initiated...
leading decision of the Supreme Court of Canada on how the tort of maliciousprosecution applies to Crown attorneys and other public prosecutors. Specifically...
it was motivated by a discriminatory purpose.'" Equal protection Maliciousprosecution Selective enforcement Feuer, Alan; Thrush, Glenn (28 August 2023)...
and the media. All five defendants sued the City of New York for maliciousprosecution, racial discrimination, and emotional distress; the city settled...
immune from liability for maliciousprosecution if they instigate the prosecution through fraudulent, corrupt or malicious misrepresentations". Tur has...
39 miners for assault, wrongful arrest, unlawful detention and maliciousprosecution. Following the 2016 inquest verdict into the 1989 Hillsborough disaster...
age, weight, and medical discrimination, wrongful termination and maliciousprosecution (Hallstrom v. Barker), and in October 2005, she received a multimillion-dollar...
only available for criminal cases and very specific civil cases (maliciousprosecution, civil fraud and false imprisonment). In the United States, jury...
Five of the six police officers charged by Mosby sued her for maliciousprosecution, defamation, and invasion of privacy. The Fourth Circuit Court of...
77 Wash. U. L.Q. 249 (1999). Brian M. Haney, Note, "Contrasting the Prosecution of Witness Tampering Under 18 U.S.C. § 1503 and 18 U.S.C. § 1512: Why...
the files regarding the Gillis takeover only with a threat of a maliciousprosecution charge on Cahill because they are sure that there is nothing to...
obtaining a settlement after alleging they conspired in the tort of maliciousprosecution. In June 2019, Setka attended a meeting of his union's national...
25, 2021). "Oklahoma senator pens 'Kyle's Law' for victims of 'malicious' prosecution after Rittenhouse case". The Independent. Archived from the original...
After his exoneration, Rivera filed a suit for false arrest and maliciousprosecution. The case was settled out of court with John E. Reid & Associates...
Tioga County District Attorney's office and several others for maliciousprosecution. In 2017 he was arrested again after allegedly stalking one of the...
hunters sued the fugitive and family, winning the civil suit for maliciousprosecution with a judgment amount of $1.5 million.[citation needed] Law portal...
fraud against the party; or a claim in respect of libel, slander, maliciousprosecution or false imprisonment unless the court is of the opinion that the...
Delaware County District Attorney's Office in federal court for maliciousprosecution, and the case eventually settled for $4 million in 2008. In 2005...
Following Claims She Made It up". May 27, 2022. "Michael Milosh's MaliciousProsecution Suit Against Ex-Wife Alexa Nikolas's Lawyers Stricken". rollingstone...
Global Information
