Daniel R. Malinski, a Burch & Cracchiolo shareholder, obtained summary judgment this week in federal court in favor of his clients: a prosecutor and the large governmental entity that employed him. The plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that the prosecutor participated with law enforcement officers in an improper and negligently conducted white collar crime investigation that resulted in the indictment and subsequent incarceration of one of the plaintiffs, among others. The criminal charges against that plaintiff were later dismissed by a judge, and not refiled. Plaintiffs then brought suit against the prosecutor and the governmental entity that employed him, alleging various civil rights and state tort law violations including malicious prosecution, defamation, destruction of property, false light invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The federal court agreed with Mr. Malinski’s analysis that the prosecutor was entitled to absolute immunity for plaintiffs’ claims, and that his employer could not be held responsible through the respondeat superior doctrine. Accordingly, the federal court granted summary judgment in favor of Mr. Malinski’s clients, and dismissed plaintiffs’ lawsuit
Mr. Malinski has been an attorney for 35 years, and his practice includes general civil litigation and appeals, insurance and institutional defense, personal injury and wrongful death, premises liability, product liability, professional liability, asbestos personal injury and property damage litigation, business contract and tort litigation, litigation involving educators and school districts, and employment litigation representing employers.