Abuse of Process - Illustration

Illustration

A cause of action for abuse of process may lie in situations where a criminal proceeding is brought against a defendant for improper motives. For example, in Lader v. Benkowitz, a pleading was held to state a good cause of action for abuse of process when it alleged that defendant hotel owner had threatened to have the plaintiff arrested on a warrant issued at the behest of the defendant on a charge of disorderly conduct. The allegedly improper motive was the hotel owner's underlying purpose of compelling plaintiff to pay a bill owed for plaintiff's alleged rental of a room in defendant's hotel. It was claimed that through the unlawful use of the warrant and threat of arrest, the defendant was able to obtain the sum of money allegedly owed by plaintiff. In denying defendant's motion to dismiss, the court admonished that it was sufficient to show that regularly issued process had been used to accomplish an improper purpose in order to set forth a cause of action for abuse of process. The fact that the plaintiff had yielded to defendant's threat to have her arrested under the warrant did not diminish the cause of action, because it was clear that the plaintiff actually had been arrested for the purpose of compelling her to pay the cost of the room.