Opinion ID: 771939
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Maliciousness

Text: 27 A malicious injury involves (1) a wrongful act, (2) done intentionally, (3) which necessarily causes injury, and (4) is done without just cause or excuse. 36 In the present case, the state court found Jercich knew he owed Petralia the wages and that injury to Petralia was substantially certain to occur if the wages were not paid; that Jercich had the clear ability to pay Petralia the wages; and that despite his knowledge, Jercich chose not to pay and instead used the money for his own personal benefit. Jercich has pointed to no just cause or excuse for his behavior. Moreover, Jercich's deliberate and willful failure to pay was found by the state trial court to constitute substantial oppression under California Civil Code 3294, which by definition is despicable conduct that subjects a person to cruel and unjust hardship in conscious disregard of that person's rights. 37 We hold that these state court findings are sufficient to show that the injury inflicted by Jercich was malicious under 523(a)(6).