California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Eugene L v. Gina F, B222983, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. SC085580 (Cal. App. 2011):
"'"To establish a cause of action for the malicious prosecution of a civil proceeding, a plaintiff must plead and prove that the prior action (1) was commenced by or at the direction of the defendant and was pursued to a legal termination in his, plaintiffs, favor [citations]; (2) was brought without probable cause [citations]; and (3) was initiated with malice [citations]." [Citation.]'" (Zamos v. Stroud (2004) 32 Cal.4th 958, 965-966.)
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