Malicious Prosecution –
[1] Elements and Case Citations
(1) Defendant commenced or continued an original criminal or civil judicial
proceeding;
(2) Defendant was the legal cause of the original proceeding against the
Plaintiff;
(3) The bona fide termination of the original proceeding in favor of the Plaintiff;
(4) Absence of probable cause in the original proceeding;
(5) Defendant acted with malice; and
(6) Plaintiff suffered damages.
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Florida State Courts
Supreme Court: Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. v. Mancusi, 632 So. 2d 1352, 1355 (Fla. 1994)
First District: McCraney v. Barberi, 677 So. 2d 355, 356 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)
Second District: Olson v. Johnson, 961 So. 2d 356, 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
Third District: Valdes v. GAB Robins N. Am., Inc., 924 So. 2d 862, 866 n.1 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)
Fourth District: Fernander v. Bonis, 947 So. 2d 584, 589 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)
Fifth District: Hardick v. Homol, 795 So. 2d 1107, 1111, n. 2 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)
Florida Federal Courts
Eleventh Circuit: Kingsland v. City Of Miami, 382 F.3d 1220, 1234-35 (11th Cir. 2004), reh'g denied, 124 Fed. Appx. 644 (11th Cir. 2004)
Southern District: Lund v. Rakofsky, 1999 WL 1457331, *7 (S.D.Fla.1999)
Middle District: Sharp v. City of Palatka, 529 F. Supp. 2d 1342, 1347-48 (M.D. Fla. 2007)
References
Restatement (Second)
of Torts § 653 (1977 Amendment)
[2] Defenses to Claim for Malicious Prosecution
(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other
standard defenses. See § 56.
(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(3)(o), Fla. Stat. (four years).
(3) Defendant brought original proceeding on advice of counsel and made full
disclosure in seeking such advice. See Wright v. Yurko, 446 So. 2d 1162, 1165 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984).
(4) Defendant had probable cause to initiate a prior judicial proceeding.
See Bell v. Anderson, 414 So. 2d 550, 550 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), rev. denied, 424 So. 2d 760 (Fla. 1982).
(5) Probable cause defense extends to reporting of a crime when there is a belief
that a crime reported has been committed. See Hudson v. Dykes, 402 So. 2d 491, 493 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).
(6) Public entities and employees may assert sovereign immunity as a defense
to malicious prosecution claims. See Hansen v. State, 503 So. 2d 1324, 1325-1326 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987) (state prosecutor); see also §
768.28, Fla. Stat. (sovereign immunity).
