Malicious Prosecution Defense Attorneys
Garcia Hong Law has defended attorneys and individuals against malicious prosecution claims. We understand that an adverse outcome in litigation does not mean the lawsuit was frivolous, lacked merit, or brought with malice. With more than 40 years of combined experience, Garcia Hong Law counsels their clients on litigation strategies, including filing special motions to strike, to fight malicious prosecution claims. We have handled malicious prosecution claims in the trial and appellate courts.
What is Malicious Prosecution?
Petitioning the courts with a lawsuit is considered a constitutional right to seek redress from grievances. A lawsuit threatening this petitioning activity is considered a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (“SLAPP”). A malicious prosecution claim is considered a SLAPP civil complaint.
A malicious prosecution claim arises from damages allegedly resulting from a previous unsuccessful lawsuit that was brought without probable cause and for a malicious reason. Fighting and defending a malicious prosecution claim can be expensive and require a lot of time and legal resources. Most malicious prosecution claims are met with the anti-SLAPP law under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16. The anti-SLAPP law has generally applied to malicious prosecution claims because it arises from petitioning the courts, namely the filing and/or maintenance of a lawsuit in a prior underlying proceeding.
Garcia Hong Law has successfully represented parties and attorneys to respond to a malicious prosecution claim by filing a Special Motion to Strike (the “anti-SLAPP motion”). We have over 40 years of combined experience in expeditiously reviewing the underlying proceeding and coming up to speed to pull together the key issues and arguments for an anti-SLAPP motion on behalf of larger law firms, individual attorneys, and the clients of the attorneys. While an attorney may often decide to tender their claim to their errors and omissions carrier for defense counsel, we have worked successfully with defense counsel to assist with the representation of other co-defendants, including the clients of the attorneys. We have experience navigating nuanced issues including advice of counsel as a defense for a malicious prosecution claim.
A successful anti-SLAPP motion can often result in an attorneys’ fees and costs award. We have also handled motions for attorneys’ fees and costs after a successful anti-SLAPP motion and obtained fee recoveries in California state courts on behalf of our clients.
Call us at 858-255-0163 or email us at [email protected] to speak with an experienced attorney for help with the defense of your malicious prosecution claim.
