Zamos

Plaintiffs and appellants Jerome Zamos and Odion L. Okojie (collectively Zamos) appeal from an order dismissing their malicious prosecution action against defendants and respondents James T. Stroud, Van T. Do, Stroud & Do (we refer to these three defendants collectively as Stroud), Carl A. Taylor (Taylor), and Nancy M. Peterson (Peterson) (we refer to all of these defendants collectively as defendants) after the trial court granted defendants' motion to strike under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 (the anti-SLAPP motion). We hold that Zamos failed to meet their burden to demonstrate a reasonable probability that their malicious prosecution claim would succeed against Taylor and Peterson. We also hold that Zamos met their burden with respect to Stroud because we conclude that an attorney may be liable for malicious prosecution if the attorney continues to prosecute a lawsuit after discovery of facts showing that the lawsuit has no merit. In so determining, and in following the Restatement Second of Torts and California authorities, we disagree with recent Court of Appeal decisions holding that a malicious prosecution action can be based only on the filing of a…