Michael Lowry (Partner-Las Vegas) and Chris Richardson (Of Counsel-Las Vegas) obtained summary judgment in the Eighth Judicial District Court, Las Vegas, in a malicious prosecution case against Wilson Elser’s client, a security services provider contracted to work in a hospital. The plaintiff is a hospital nurse whom our client’s employees observed interacting with a patient they believed the nurse physically abused. The employees reported their observations to superiors resulting in a police investigation, a grand jury hearing, and criminal charges against the nurse. The charges were dismissed, however, due to an error in the grand jury hearing, and the plaintiff sued our client and its employees for malicious prosecution and other related causes of action.

After significant discovery, Michael and Chris moved for summary judgment, arguing that the malicious prosecution cause of action failed as a matter of law because the dismissal of criminal charges didn’t prevent the state from re-filing them. The court concurred that dismissal with prejudice is required to support malicious prosecution. It also concluded that the security personnel had probable cause to report their observations, a defense defeating a malicious prosecution claim.

The court further agreed that our client’s security personnel are immune from suit and qualify for statutory immunity under NRS 200.5096. The statute creates mandatory and permissive reporting obligations for certain persons and immunizes them from civil liability arising from their reporting. This ruling is thought to be among the first where the statute has been applied to security personnel working in a hospital. The plaintiff later voluntarily dismissed his case in lieu of an appeal.