Robinzine v. Vicory, 143 Cal. App. 4th 1416 (2006)

Kimberly and Clifford Robinzine sued their former employer, RPM Company, and a number of coworkers for employment discrimination and related claims. The Robinzines also asserted a claim for malicious prosecution, which arose from a temporary restraining order that the employer had obtained against Clifford for an alleged threat of workplace violence. (When RPM was subsequently unable to prove any threat of unlawful violence had been made against an RPM employee, the court dissolved the TRO.) Defendants moved to strike the malicious prosecution claim under the anti-SLAPP statute, arguing that the issuance of the TRO established that they had probable cause to petition for an injunction. The Court of Appeal held, consistent with prior case law, that a malicious prosecution claim cannot be predicated upon an unsuccessful civil harassment petition such as the one filed by RPM and the other defendants.