Opinion ID: 1102947
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Bona Fide Termination

Text: In order to prevail in a malicious prosecution action, a plaintiff must establish that: (1) an original criminal or civil judicial proceeding against the present plaintiff was commenced or continued; (2) the present defendant was the legal cause of the original proceeding against the present plaintiff as the defendant in the original proceeding; (3) the termination of the original proceeding constituted a bona fide termination of that proceeding in favor of the present plaintiff; (4) there was an absence of probable cause for the original proceeding; (5) there was malice on the part of the present defendant; and (6) the plaintiff suffered damage as a result of the original proceeding. Burns v. GCC Beverages, Inc., 502 So.2d 1217 (Fla. 1986); Adams v. Whitfield, 290 So.2d 49 (Fla. 1974). The failure of a plaintiff to establish any one of these six elements is fatal to a claim of malicious prosecution. Alamo's principal argument concerns the third element, a bona fide termination. Alamo first asserts that the district court erroneously placed the burden on Alamo rather than Mancusi to prove a bona fide termination of the underlying criminal case on which this action is based. Second, Alamo contends that Mancusi must do more than simply show that the underlying criminal case was dismissed; Mancusi must also prove that the termination was one of good faith, i.e., that the underlying action was dismissed because Mancusi was innocent. Third, Alamo asserts that the district court erroneously stated that a nol pros is always proof of a bona fide termination unless it is shown that the dismissal was secured solely for restitution. As to this last assertion, Alamo states that, although a nol pros that is secured on the promise of restitution does not constitute a bona fide termination, neither does a nol pros that is secured through bargaining, negotiation, or a promise of payment, such as the one at issue here. Because Mancusi's nol pros was allegedly premised upon a bargained-for promise of payment to Alamo, Alamo argues that Mancusi has failed to establish the bona fide termination element and concludes that judgment must be entered in its favor. Mancusi, on the other hand, maintains that the district court did not reverse the burden of proof or suggest that Alamo had the burden of showing the absence of a bona fide termination. Mancusi insists that the district court merely held that, once he proved that the underlying criminal case was dismissed by the State, the burden then shifted to Alamo to prove that the nol pros was based solely on restitution. Further, he states that negotiating or discussing a nol pros with the State does not negate the bona fide nature of the dismissal for purposes of malicious prosecution. Based on the evidence presented at trial, Mancusi claims that the termination was bona fide as a matter of law and asks that we uphold the judgment entered by the trial court. The district court, relying on Freedman v. Crabro Motors, Inc., 199 So.2d 745 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967), stated that a bona fide termination is one that indicates the innocence of the accused and is one that has not been obtained by the accused on a bargained-for promise of payment or restitution. Clearly, as with all of the elements of a malicious prosecution claim, it is the plaintiff's burden to establish that the underlying cause of action was terminated and that such termination was bona fide. Once a plaintiff submits evidence of a bona fide termination, the burden shifts to the defendant to rebut that the termination was bona fide. For example, when a plaintiff establishes that an underlying criminal case was nol prossed and presents evidence that the nol pros was not the result of a negotiated plea or bargain, the burden then shifts to the defendant to present evidence to the contrary and the issue becomes one for a jury to decide. [1] Consequently, we disapprove the district court's opinion and the opinion in Liu to the extent those opinions could be construed to hold that it is initially the defendant's burden to establish that a nol pros was not bona fide and that a nol pros is bona fide unless it is based solely on restitution. We note, however, that bargaining or negotiating, in and of itself, does not always negate the bona fide nature of the termination. For instance, as the district court found in Shidlowsky v. National Car Rental Systems, Inc., 344 So.2d 903 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), cert. denied, 355 So.2d 516 (1978), if the bargaining constitutes nothing more than a promise to pay what was offered before the charges were brought, and the negotiations reflect the accused's innocence, then the termination would still be bona fide. The question in this case then becomes whether the nol pros was based on a bargained-for promise of payment to Alamo. As noted, Alamo and Mancusi both assert that sufficient facts exist for this Court to rule in their favor as a matter of law as to whether the nol pros constituted a bona fide termination. However, the record reflects that the facts surrounding the issuance of the nol pros are in dispute. As an example, Mancusi contends that the promise of payment was separate and apart from the nol pros because the payment constituted nothing more than what Mancusi had been offering all along. Alamo, on the other hand, contends that payment by Mancusi was the result of a negotiated nol pros. As stated by the district court, only after considering the circumstances surrounding the nol pros could the trier of fact determine whether the nol pros Mancusi received was bona fide. Consequently, we find that, on this record, the district court appropriately held that this issue was a question for the jury as the finder of fact. We agree that the jury should have been allowed to hear the circumstances surrounding the termination and that this case must be remanded for a new trial to allow a jury to consider whether the termination was bona fide. [2]