Kenneth J. Mynatt v. National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 39 Et Al.

This case involves claims of malicious prosecution and civil conspiracy.  The trial court dismissed the claims pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.02(6), determining that the plaintiff could not prove that the underlying criminal prosecution had terminated in his favor, a necessary element of a malicious prosecution claim.  Regarding the civil conspiracy claim, the court determined that the conspiracy claim was only actionable if the underlying tort were actionable.  Having found that the malicious prosecution claim could not stand, the court concluded that the conspiracy claim had to be dismissed as well.  The plaintiff timely appealed.  Based upon the applicable standard of review, we conclude that the trial court erred in dismissing the plaintiff’s claims, and we accordingly reverse the judgment of dismissal and remand this matter to the trial court for further proceedings.