Gem Trading Co. v. Cudahy Corp.

This appeal raises questions of abuse of a qualified or conditional privilege to a defamation claim and the elements of the tort of malicious prosecution.

Appellant Robin Van Woerden, a cattle feed lot manager, brought a civil action for defamation and malicious prosecution of a civil case against respondent Cudahy Corporation, his former employer. The Court of Appeals, Division Three, affirmed the dismissal of the claims on summary judgment by the Yakima County Superior Court because of Van Woerden's failure to show Cudahy's malice in making the conditionally privileged remarks and because of…