DALE AUBREY MAYBIN, APPELLANT,
v.
MALCOLM THOMPSON, INDIVIDUALLY AND IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS A MEMBER OF THE CITY OF FORT MYERS POLICE DEPARTMENT, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1992-10-21
No. 91-01850
FRANK, A.C.J., and BLUE, J., concur.
606 So. 2d 1240 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Maybin appeals a summary judgment entered in favor of police officer Thompson on a malicious prosecution claim following remand from a prior appellate decision. The court reverses, holding that summary judgment was procedurally improper and that a jury verdict finding no liability for false arrest does not conclusively establish probable cause as a matter of law in a malicious prosecution action.


Holding

Summary judgment was improper because it was inconsistent with the appellate court's mandate requiring a new trial on all issues of damages and liability. A jury verdict of no liability on a false arrest/false imprisonment claim does not conclusively establish probable cause for purposes of a malicious prosecution claim, as these are distinct causes of action with different elements.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court may grant summary judgment on remand only if it is consistent with the reversing court's mandate.

[2] A jury's finding of no liability for false arrest or false imprisonment does not conclusively establish the existence of probable cause for a malicious prosecution claim.

Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“The mandate holds that the parties are entitled to a new trial on all issues arising from the malicious prosecution claim, while the summary judgment effectively dismisses that cause of action against Thompson.”

Establishes that summary judgment was procedurally improper because it contradicted the appellate mandate

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On May 2, 1981, Maybin had a confrontation with Fort Myers police officer Malcolm Thompson. Maybin sued Thompson and the City of Fort Myers for damage…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
THREADGILL, Judge.

THREADGILL, Judge.

Dale Aubrey Maybin, plaintiff below, challenges a final summary judgment entered in favor of Malcolm Thompson, a Fort Myers police officer, defendant below, in this action for malicious prosecution. We reverse.

Initially, Maybin filed a civil action against the City of Fort Myers and Officer Thompson for damages resulting from a confrontation between Maybin and Thompson which occurred on May 2, 1981. Only the claims against Thompson are relevant to this appeal. A jury found Thompson liable for malicious prosecution but awarded zero dollars in damages. The jury found Thompson not liable on claims for battery, and false arrest/false imprisonment. Upon Maybin’s motion, the trial court granted a new trial on the issue of damages for malicious prosecution, and Thompson appealed. The verdict finding Thompson not liable for battery, and false arrest/false imprisonment was not appealed.

In Maybin v. Thompson, 560 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990), this court reversed the trial court’s order granting a new trial as to damages only, and remanded for a new trial on all issues of damages and liability growing out of the action for malicious prosecution. Upon remand to the trial court, Thompson moved for summary judgment. The trial court granted the motion, entered judgment for Thompson, and May-bin filed this appeal.

Maybin raises two issues, both of which have merit and require reversal. First, the entry of summary judgment following remand by this court is procedurally barred. A trial court may grant summary judgment on remand where the summary judgment is consistent with the reversing court’s mandate. See Fish Carburetor Corp. v. Great American Ins. Co., 125 So. 2d 889 (Fla. 1st DCA 1961); Walker v. Atlantic Coastline R.R. Co., 121 So. 2d 713 (Fla. 1st DCA 1960). Here, however, the summary judgment is inconsistent with this court’s mandate. The mandate holds that the parties are entitled to a new trial on all issues arising from the malicious prosecution claim, while the summary judgment effectively dismisses that cause of action against Thompson.

Second, Thompson’s arguments in support of summary judgment, upon which the trial court obviously relied, are unavailing. He argues that the jury verdict absolving him of liability on the false arrest/false imprisonment claim conclusively establishes, as a matter of law, that there was probable cause to prosecute the criminal charges against Maybin. He then concludes that because want of probable cause is an essential element in a claim for malicious prosecution, Maybin cannot prove his claim. We disagree.

False arrest/false imprisonment and malicious prosecution are distinct causes of action. The elements of an action for malicious prosecution are: the instigation of a criminal proceeding by the defendant; its termination in favor of the plaintiff; the exercise of malice by the defendant; want of probable cause; and damage. Ward v. Allen, 152 Fla. 82, 11 So. 2d 193 (Fla.1942). False imprisonment, on the other hand, is the unlawful restraint of a person against his will, the gist of which is the unlawful detention of the plaintiff and the deprivation of his liberty. Johnson v. Weiner, 155 Fla. 169, 19 So. 2d 699 (Fla.1944). A defendant accused of malicious prosecution is liable for the confinement caused by the arrest only because it is a part of the damages caused by malicious prosecution. Erp v. Carroll, 438 So. 2d 31, 40 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983).

In light of these distinctions, we reject Thompson’s argument that the jury’s finding of no liability as to the false arrest/false imprisonment claim conclusively establishes, as a matter of law, the existence of probable cause. The jury’s finding of no liability was not necessarily based on a finding that probable cause existed, but could have been based on a finding concerning the nature of the detention. In fact, in its verdict form, the jury answered affirmatively when asked if Thompson “maliciously and without probable cause institute^] a criminal proceeding” against Maybin (emphasis added).

We therefore reverse the order granting summary judgment and remand for a new trial in accordance with this court’s previous mandate.

FRANK, A.C.J., and BLUE, J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Ware v. United States, 971 F. Supp. 1442 (M.D. Fla. 1997)
    …tion of “false imprisonment” and argues that it necessarily prevents the FBI from being sufficiently notified of a claim for malicious prosecution in light of the differences between the two (2) torts under Florida law, see Maybin v. Thompson, 606 So.2d 1240, 1241 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). 134. This argument fails. Regardless of the legal distinctions between a theory of liability listed in an administrative claim and an unlisted one, the issue is whether both actions “are based on the same injury in fact…
  • Kilpatrick v. United States, 578 F. Supp. 2d 1339 (N.D. Fla. 2008)
    …uld be dismissed on the merits. False imprisonment under Florida law “is the unlawful restraint of a person against his will, the gist of which is the unlawful detention of the plaintiff and the deprivation of his liberty.” Maybin v. Thompson, 606 So.2d 1240, 1241-1242 (Fla.2nd DCA 1992) (citing Johnson v. Weiner, 155 Fla. 169, 171, 19 So.2d 699 (Fla.1944)). The detention must have been “unreasonable and unwarranted under the circumstances.” Rivers v. Dillards Dep’t Store, 698 So.2d 1328, 13…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw