Can abuse of process amount to an actionable tort?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Roeder v. Lang Michener Lawrence & Shaw, a partnership et al., 2005 BCSC 1784 (CanLII):
Abuse of process can amount to an actionable tort. Its essential elements are: 1. the defendants have been subjected to a legal process by the plaintiffs; 2. this has been done predominantly to further some indirect, collateral and improper purpose outside the ambit of the litigation; 3. some definite act or threat has been made in furtherance of that process; 4. some measure of actual damage has resulted. (Home Equity Development v. Crow et al., 2002 BCSC 1747).
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