Johnson v. Haynie

In this malicious prosecution action the jury returned a verdict in the amount of $12,000.00 for plaintiff John B. Johnson (Johnson) against Bobby R. Haynie (Haynie) and the Ampex Corporation (Ampex). The trial court granted defendants' motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or in the alternative a new trial. We reverse the trial court's grant of a JNOV, but affirm its grant of a new trial.

In October 1978 a tool box was taken from the office of David Settle (Settle), a laboratory supervisor at the Ampex plant in Opelika, Alabama. Settle notified Haynie, employment supervisor at the…