Fina Oil and Chemical Co. v. Hood

The defendant, Fina Oil and Chemical Company, appeals from a judgment entered on a jury verdict in favor of the plaintiffs, Doyle and Norma Chism (husband and wife), in their malicious prosecution action.1 The jury awarded damages totalling $3,500,000. Fina raises several issues on appeal. Because we reverse and render a judgment based on the primary issue raised — whether Fina had probable cause to institute and continue the actions giving rise to the malicious prosecution action — we pretermit discussion of the other issues.

The facts leading up to this dispute are as follows:

The Chism…