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Brief Fact Summary. Plaintiff brought suit after Defendant had him arrested when Defendant accelerated payments on a mortgage that he had due to them.
Synopsis of Rule of Law. Abuse of process in order to extort an outcome from another party is actionable.
Issue. This case is among the first cases, which considers whether abuse of legal process is actionable in a court of law.
Held. The Court of Common Please held that Plaintiff did have a cause of action, and thus denied nonsuit. Additionally, the court held this cause was an action for abusing the process of law, by applying it to extort property.
Discussion. Abuse of process, in order to extort property, or apply duress is action