Malicious Prosecution Action May Proceed.

Plaintiff received two checks from an insurance company in settlement of a claim. He took the checks to the bank where the checks were drawn, and the bank refused to cash one check. The bank manager called police and reported that plaintiff threatened to blow up the bank. Plaintiff was charged with a crime, tried and acquitted by a jury. Plaintiff then sued the bank and its manager for malicious prosecution. The trial court entered judgment for defendants after granting a special motion to strike pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, [the anti-SLAPP statute]. The appellate court reversed, musing how, when there was “some belief that a misdemeanor is being committed [one] can make up evidence of an entirely different and much more serious crime.”  Greene v. Bank of America (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 5; May 16, 2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 454.