Bryant v. Kuntz

Citations

• 25 Pa. Super. 102
• 1902 Pa. Super. LEXIS 441

Syllabus

<p>Malicious prosecution — Malice—Probable cause — Province of court and fury.</p> <p>Prosecutions are presumed to have been properly instituted and hence in order to sustain an action for malicious prosecution, malice and want of probable cause must both concur and be proved by the plaintiff. What facts and circumstances amount to probable cause is a question of law. Whether they exist in any particular case is a question of fact. Where the facts are in controversy, the question must be submitted to the jury, in which event it is the duty of the court to instruct them as to what facts will constitute probable cause and to submit to them only the question of such facts.</p> <p>If all the evidence is insufficient to establish probable cause the court shall so instruct the jury, for they are not at liberty to find a fact without evidence; and, if the admitted facts amount to probable cause, the court should direct a verdict for the defendant even if his malice were clearly proved.</p> <p>The inquiry as to the probable cause goes back to the commencement of the prosecution and relates to the facts then known, and as they then appeared. It is not confined to the truth of matters that lead to the prosecution, but extends to their appearance as indicating the guilt or innocence of the accused. While mere floating rumors are not an adequate foundation for it, representations of others may be, and especially representations made by those who have had opportunities for knowledge, or who have made an investigation.</p> <p>In an action for malicious prosecution it appeared that defendant acting as agent for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was notified by an alderman that the plaintiff had been guilty of cruelty to animals and was given the source of information with the request that he investigate it. The investigation was made promptly, and acting on the evidence thus secured defendant made an information against the plaintiff to whom he was a stranger.