Cloon v. Gerry
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Action of tort for malicious prosecution. The declaration alleged that the defendant, maliciously contriving to injure the plaintiff, and without probable cause, made a complaint to a justice of the peace against the plaintiff, for illegal sales of intoxicating liquors ; and that the plaintiff, being tried before the justice, was convicted and sentenced, and appealed to the court of common pleas, and was there tried and acquitted.
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Action of tort for malicious prosecution. The declaration alleged that the defendant, maliciously contriving to injure the plaintiff, and without probable cause, made a complaint to a justice of the peace against the plaintiff, for illegal sales of intoxicating liquors ; and that the plaintiff, being tried before the justice, was convicted and sentenced, and appealed to the court of common pleas, and was there tried and acquitted. At the trial in the court of common pleas in Middlesex, before Sanger, J., after the reading of the pleadings, “ it being admitted that the complaint before the…
1Opinion of the CourtShaw, C. J.
In an action for a malicious prosecution against one, in the name of the Commonwealth, the averment on the *202part of the plaintiff, that the complaint was made without reasonable cause, lies at the foundation of the suit; and although it is in form a negative proposition, it is incumbent on the plaintiff to establish it by satisfactory proof. This kind of suit, by which the complainant in a criminal prosecution is made liable to an action for damages, at the suit of the person complained of, is not to be favored; it has a tendency to deter men who know of breaches of the law, from prosecuting…
2Cited by6 opinions
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- Macdonald v. SchroederSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1905
- Weststar Mortgage Corp. v. JacksonNew Mexico Court of Appeals · 2002
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