Can a plaintiff recover for malicious prosecution if nothing more than a police department investigation occurred?

In Imig v. Ferrar, supra, 70 Cal.App.3d 48, 138 Cal.Rptr. 540, the court held that a plaintiff could recover for malicious prosecution based upon an administrative proceeding, but not if nothing more than a police department investigation occurred. The plaintiff in Imig, a police officer, sued a defendant who had earlier filed formal charges accusing the plaintiff of profanity, brutality, and conduct unbecoming an officer. A departmental investigation later found the accusations groundless. The court determined that because the investigation ended at a preliminary stage, and did not lead the official agency to initiate formal proceedings, the plaintiff suffered no harm a malicious prosecution suit could remedy. (Id., at 58-59, 138 Cal.Rptr. 540; accord, Ferraris v. Levy (1963) 223 Cal.App.2d 408, 412, 36 Cal.Rptr. 30.)

In Twyford v. Twyford, supra, 63 Cal.App.3d 916, 134 Cal.Rptr. 145, a wife filed a "request for admissions" after the final decree of dissolution as part of her attempt to have her former husband held in contempt for his alleged failure to pay attorney fees, spousal support, and sums of money. Before the contempt hearing, the wife's attorneys informed the court that the amounts had been paid, dropped the contempt motion, and did not pursue the request for admissions. The trial court removed the latter two items from its calendar.