Greene

INTRODUCTION

This matter, before us for the second time, concerns plaintiff and appellant Gary Greene’s malicious prosecution action against defendants and respondents Bank of America (Bank) and its employee Jenny Casasola.1 In his action, plaintiff alleged that he went to a branch of the Bank to cash two checks he received from State Farm Insurance in settlement of a claim. When the Bank refused to cash the checks, a dispute arose between plaintiff and Bank employees. Casasola, the Bank’s branch manager, called the police and reported that plaintiff had threatened to blow up the Bank’s branch. Plaintiff was arrested and charged with making a criminal threat in violation of Penal Code section 422. After a jury trial, plaintiff was acquitted. In our prior opinion, we reversed a judgment in favor of defendants that was entered after their successful Code of Civil Procedure section 426.16 motion to strike plaintiff’s action (anti-SLAPP2 motion). On remand, defendants brought a summary judgment motion on the ground of the collateral estoppel effect of the magistrate’s finding of probable cause based on a credibility determination at plaintiff’s preliminary hearing in his criminal…