Legal Bibliography
Malicious Prosecution

    R. Guy picked up his laundry at the Nexxon's Laundry, Inc. and paid the $13.50 bill by check written on his account at Ft Jackson Federal Credit Union. Mr. Guy has been doing business with Nexxon's laundry for more than four years. The clerks who work at the counter know him, and he used to socialize with the owner, Dick Nexxon, though he never sees Mr. Nexxon in the laundry any more.

    Nexxon's Laundry  apparently mislaid the check and did not deposit it for three months. In the meantime, Mr. Guy saw a Bank of Cayce-Congaree & Irmo (BCCI) advertisement for senior citizens, promising interest on checking accounts, free checks, no service charges, and other services at no cost. As a result, he moved his account from the Ft. Jackson Federal Credit Union to BCCI. Being cautious, Mr. Guy stopped writing new checks and waited two weeks for outstanding checks to clear his Credit Union account before moving the balance to BCCI. He did not realize that he still had an outstanding check to Nexxon's Laundry  because he has not reconciled his checkbook in years, and he never worries so long as the balance reported on the bank statements look about right to him.

    Nexxon's Laundry finally deposited Mr. Guy's check which was returned by the Ft. Jackson Federal Credit Union stamped "Account Closed." Maurice Stans, bookkeeper/accountant for Nexxon's Laundry, sent R. Guy a letter by certified mail, notifying him of the returned check. Mr. Guy immediately stopped at Nexxon's and paid $13.50 in cash plus a $20.00 service charge, receiving a receipt but not the returned check which, according to the counter clerk, was at the bookkeeper's office and not on the premises.

    One month latter Mr. Guy was arrested at his home on a bad check warrant sworn out by Nexxon's Laundry. The date on warrant is two weeks after the date on his cash receipt. The supporting affidavit was signed by Maurice Stans.

    Mr. Guy spent the night in the Richland County Detention Center before he was released in the morning on his personal recognizance. No one from Nexxon's Laundry  showed up for trial two weeks later, and the magistrate told Mr. Guy that he was dismissing the case for "failure to prosecute." When Mr. Guy called Nexxon's for an explanation, he was not allowed to speak to the owner, but he was referred to the company's lawyer, John Mitchell. At that point, he decided to retain a lawyer of his own (that's us).

    Please research the law of malicious prosecution and explain whether Mr. Guy can establish the elements of this tort. I am particularly concerned (1) whether he can establish "malice" when there seems to be no personal animosity toward him, (2) whether he can establish liability on the part of the cleaners when the accountant and not the cleaners obtained the warrant and (3) whether the case actually terminated in R. Guy's favor where the magistrate dismissed it on the ground that Nexxon's failed to prosecute it.