Liabos v. Harman
| Decision Date | 25 October 1968 |
| Docket Number | No. 68--5,68--5 |
| Citation | 215 So.2d 487 |
| Parties | Beverly LIABOS, as Administratrix of the Estate of George P. Liabos, Deceased, Appellant, v. Gale HARMAN, Robert Teates, and Publix Super Markets, Inc., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
John C. Dent, Jr., and Herb Blessing, of Lee & Blair, Sarasota, for appellant.
David S. Yost, of Cramer, Robinson, Ginsburg & Ross, Sarasota, for appellees.
George Liabos, the deceased appellant, was arrested on warrants charging him with the crime of issuing worthless checks. The warrants were issued upon affidavits signed by appellees, Gale Harman and Robert Teates, both of whom were employed by Publix Super Markets, Inc., and both of whom were acting within the scope of their employment. Harman and Teates acted after several fellow employees visually identified George Liabos as the individual who had passed a number of worthless checks in Publix stores. Neither appellee, however was an eye-witness to the passing of the checks; both acted solely upon information given them by others and apparently overlooked or ignored certain information casting a large measure of doubt on their conclusion regarding Liabos. They investigated Liabos' reputation with the Publix store in his community, for example, and found that he was considered to be both trustworthy and honest. In addition, they found that he was gainfully employed, and considered trustworthy by his employer. Further, they found that he drove a different car from that ascribed to the bad check artist, and that while the real culprit wore glasses, Liabos did not.
Despite these discrepancies, appellees signed the affidavits and Liabos was arrested. He was allowed to post bond, but only after he was detained in the custody of the police for several hours. The following day one Jess Leland Roberts was arrested and confessed to passing the worthless checks in question, whereupon Liabos was released from bond and the charge against him was dropped.
Appellant subsequently brought this suit for malicious prosecution against Harman, Teates, and Publix Super Markets, Inc. Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court granted, and this appeal ensued. Thereafter George Liabos died and his wife, as his administratrix, was substituted for him in this proceeding.
The issue before us is whether the court properly granted defendant-appellees a summary judgment in light of the facts disclosed.
It is well established in Florida that an action for malicious prosection lies where the following elements concur:
1) the commencement or continuance of an original civil or criminal judicial proceeding;
2) its legal causation by the present defendant against the plaintiff;
3) its bona fide termination in favor of the plaintiff;
4) the absence of probable cause for such prosecution;
5) the presence of malice; and
6) damage conforming to legal standards resulting to plaintiff.
Duval Jewelry Co. v. Smith, 1931, 102 Fla. 717, 136 So. 878, 880; Tatum Bros. Real Estate & Inv. Co. v. Watson, 1926, 92 Fla. 278, 109 So. 623; Wilson v. O'Neal, Fla.App.1960, 118 So.2d 101; W. Prosser, Torts § 113 (3d ed. 1964). There is no doubt, and it is not seriously disputed, that five of these elements exist in the instant case. The only real controversy concerns...
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