Mississippi Jury Instruction - Abuse of Process

Prosecution by the defendant. Absence of reasonable and probable cause. Defendant acted maliciously. Termination of proceedings in the favour of the plaintiff. Plaintiff suffered damage as a result of the prosecution.

Abuse of process is an intentional tort that arises when a person deliberately misuses a court process that is not justified by the underlying civil or criminal legal action. As with most torts, the elements that a plaintiff must prove in order to win his or her case will vary from state to state.

It is a claim made by the respondent or defendant that the other party is misusing or perverting regularly issued court process (civil or criminal) not justified by the underlying legal action. In common law it is classified as an intentional tort.

A plaintiff can sue for malicious prosecution when a defendant "maliciously" prosecutes a criminal case or uses a civil proceeding against the plaintiff when the defendant knows he or she doesn't have a case.

The judge instructs the jury about the relevant laws that should guide its deliberations. (In some jurisdictions, the court may instruct the jury at any time after the close of evidence.The judge reads the instructions to the jury. This is commonly referred to as the judge's charge to the jury.

Legal Definition of malicious prosecution : the tort of initiating a criminal prosecution or civil suit against another party with malice and without probable cause also : an action for damages based on this tort brought after termination of the proceedings in favor of the party seeking damages.

Malicious prosecution occurs when one party has knowingly and with malicious intent initiated baseless litigation against another party. This includes both criminal charges and civil claims, for which the cause of action is essentially the same.

To win a suit for malicious prosecution, the plaintiff must prove four elements: (1) that the original case was terminated in favor of the plaintiff, (2) that the defendant played an active role in the original case, (3) that the defendant did not have probable cause or reasonable grounds to support the original case,

The Elements of Abuse of Process However, the typical elements that a plaintiff must prove in an abuse of process lawsuit are: The existence of an ulterior motive or purpose in using the process, and. An act in the use of the process that is not proper in the regular prosecution of the legal proceedings.