McNeley

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Dillard James McNeley appeals a judgment of nonsuit on his cause of action for malicious prosecution. McNeley concedes that many of the facts relevant to his malicious prosecution claim are undisputed—namely, that his companion, Latasha Cole, took money from a cash register at defendant Steve’s Charburgers (Steve’s) over the objections of Steve’s employees, and that McNeley and Cole left together (with the money) in McNeley’s vehicle. McNeley contends, however, that a nonsuit should not have been granted because there was conflicting evidence as to whether he threatened violence during the course of the incident. As to that issue, several Steve’s employees testified that he threatened them; he denied it. We affirm. Probable cause to initiate a criminal prosecution exists where “it was objectively reasonable for the defendant . . . to suspect the plaintiff . . . had committed a crime.” (Ecker v. Raging Waters Group, Inc. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1320, 1330.) In the present case, presuming—as we must for purposes of a nonsuit—that McNeley did not threaten the employees with violence, on the facts of this case it still was reasonable for the employees to suspect…