Opinion ID: 2617624
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Malicious Motivation

Text: The essence of malicious prosecution is abuse of judicial process occasioned by bringing a civil proceeding with malice. [33] When a malicious-prosecution defendant (1) instigates successive suits upon a cause of action after an adverse determination, (2) files repetitive suits for the same cause of action before any are resolved or (3) initiates, dismisses and refiles the same cause of action, the bringing of the successive actions [even those concluded dehors the applicable statutory limitation] may be used as proof of an improper motive or of malice. [34] Nonetheless, where the earlier action has not been adversely concluded, successive proceedings upon the same cause of action are not relevant to a lack of probable cause. [35] The malicious-prosecution plaintiff carries the burden of proving the defendant's want of probable cause in bringing each action comprising the multi-componential predicate.