Legal Question in Personal Injury in United States Minor Outlying Islands

Re: malicious procecution

Lawsuits for MALICIOUS PROSECUTION are brought by those who have been DEFENDANTs in EITHER CIVIL proceedings or in criminal court.

An essential prerequisite is that generally, he or she must have PREVAILED in the CIVIL proceeding at issue, the court must have ruled in his favor (except when the civil proceeding was ex parte); or, if the MALICIOUS PROSECUTION case is based on a criminal case, then he or she must have ACQUITTED in the criminal case. (It would NOT be enough in a criminal case if charges were merely withdrown n procedural grounds or if charges were dismissed.)

MALICIOUS PROSECUTION brought by the winning DEFENDANT in a CIVIL proceeding(s) is covered by Restatement Torts (2nd) Section 674; MALICIOUS PROSECUTION brought by the AQCUITTED DEFENDANT in a CRIMINAL proceeding(s) is covered by Restatement Torts (2nd) Section 653; and, the plaintiff in a MALICIOUS PROSECUTION lawsuit may be able to recover BOTH GENERAL DAMAGES (for emotional distress, and for harm to reputation or to person or to property) and SPECIAL DAMAGES for adverse legal consequences from the civil proceeding(s) and for for expenses of conducting the defense in those civil proceedings and for other resulting financial losses.

Generally: a lawsuit for malicious prosecution based on a CIVIL proceeding is brought against defendant private person(s)who have:

(1) actively participated in the procurement or initiation or continuation of civil proceedings against the plaintiff:

(1)(a) if, in so doing, these defendants had NO PROBABLE CAUSE for the civil proceeding against the plaintiff and,

(2) if, in so doing, the defendants acted with MALICE, i.e., the defendants' were NOT PRIMARILY motivated by a legitimate intent of achieving proper adjudication of the claims which the civil proceeding is adjudicating.

Similarly: a lawsuit for malicious prosecution based on a CRIMINAL proceeding is brought against defendant private person(s)who have:

(1) actively participated in the procurement or initiation of CRIMINAL proceedings against the plaintiff:

(1)(a) if, in so doing, these defendants had NO PROBABLE CAUSE for the civil proceeding against the plaintiff and,

(2) if, in so doing, the defendants acted with MALICE, i.e., the defendants' were NOT PRIMARILY motivated by legitimate intent of "bringing an offender to justice".

(3) Moreover, the current plaintiff in this MALICIOUS PROSECUTION case, who is claiming to have been wronged by having been the defendant in this civil proceedings(s), CANNOT sue for malicious prosecution, unless the civil proceeding ruled in his or her favor,(except when the proceeding was ex parte).