MALICIOUS PROSECUTION

“Malicious Prosecution consists of the wrongful and intentional assault on the dignity of a person encompassing his good name and privacy. To succeed with this claim, a claimant must allege and prove that:
i. The defendant set the law in motion (instigated or instituted the proceedings);
ii. The defendant acted without reasonable and probable cause;
iii. The defendant acted with malice (or animo injuriandi – the wrongful intention to defame or injure another's reputation or personality); and
iv. The prosecution failed.”
 
Essential Elements of Malicious Prosecution
A successful malicious prosecution claims requires that:
• the defendant begin or continue a criminal or civil legal proceeding
• without reasonable grounds to believe the allegations of the proceeding
• and with a purpose other than simply getting a judgment in the proceeding (called “malice” in legal terms)
• the defendant has lost the original “false” case he or she brought against the plaintiff, and
• the plaintiff was damaged by the defendant’s “false” case.