Leonard v. City of Los Angeles

Opinion

DUNN, J.

Defendant City of Los Angeles appeals from a judgment entered against it on plaintiff’s suit for false imprisonment. Following a nonjury trial the court found that defendant city had, without probable cause, wrongfully arrested and imprisoned plaintiff.

The evidence and the superior court’s findings disclose that the arrest occurred in Los Angeles on August 16, 1965. Plaintiff was charged by the officers with violating Penal Code section 485, a misdemeanor involving lost property valued at less than $200. The superior court which heard plaintiff’s civil action found that the…