Court Opinion

ID: 9669314
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 02:49:17.470533+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:16:55.903210
License: Public Domain

LEE, Justice,
concurring.
While I agree that the attorney-appellees are not liable to Bossin for false imprisonment under the facts presented here, I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the trial court acted within its authority in ordering Bossin’s arrest. I am not convinced that Judge Leal had authority to issue the writ of attachment for Bossin’s arrest when Bossin had not failed to appear after a subpoena had been served.
The trial court’s authority, however, is not determinative of the outcome of this matter. Instead, the proper test to determine an attorney’s liability for false imprisonment is whether the attorney is the active cause of the detention, based upon the scope and degree of the attorney’s participation. Under these facts, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that Towber did not cause Bossin’s detention so as to be liable for false imprisonment.