John Svensen v. Jeff Hester (Appeal from Lauderdale Circuit Court: CV-20-900339).

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the Lauderdale Circuit Court’s summary judgment for Jeff Hester, holding that Hester had probable cause to initiate the criminal prosecution of John Svensen for negotiating a worthless negotiable instrument. The Court explained that probable cause is assessed by the elements of the crime and is not negated by the expiration of the statute of limitations, and that the limited Empiregas exception did not apply because Hester lacked actual knowledge that the prosecution was meritless.