Companion of shoplifter cannot sue for false arrest
Zena Najor was originally arrested, along with her companion, after a cell phone was stolen from a retail store. The prosecutor ultimately concluded that he could not prove that Najor was involved in the theft and dismissed the charges against her. She then sued for false arrest and imprisonment.
The Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of her claim, noting that her arrest was based on probable cause arising out of the arresting officer's affidavit, and that the officer and complaining witness did not act with actual malice when they included Najor in their suspicions, along with her [convicted] companion, based on the content of the store's surveillance video.