United States First Circuit
Gonzalez-Rucci v. US Immigration and Naturalization Serv., 07-1198
In claims of malicious prosecution and abuse of process brought under Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) by plaintiff-immigration attorney against INS, dismissal of plaintiff-attorney's claims is affirmed where: 1) Puerto Rico law requires both malice and action without probable cause to sustain a malicious prosecution claim; 2) the court's factual findings plainly reveal that neither was present in these circumstances; and 3) plaintiff did not meet her burden of showing any procedural component of her criminal prosecution was influenced by a bad motive, or conducted with the purpose of attaining an improper collateral objective.
Appellate Information
- Decided 08/21/2008
- Published 08/21/2008
Judges
- TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge., Before TORRUELLA, SELYA, and BOUDIN, Circuit Judges.
Court
- United States First Circuit
Counsel
- For Appellant:
- Julio C. Alejandro-Serrano, with whom Office of Nicolás Nogueras-Cartagena, was on brief for appellant.
- For Appellees:
- Isabel Muñoz-Acosta, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Julia M. Meconiates, Assistant United States Attorney, Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney, and Nelson Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief, Appellate Division, were on brief for appellees.