Gogue v. MacDonald

In Gogue v. MacDonald (1950) 35 Cal.2d 482, the complaint alleged that defendant had reported certain facts to a justice of the peace: that plaintiff had left defendant's cottage without paying rent due. The justice of the peace issued a warrant for plaintiff's arrest, although the facts defendant reported did not constitute any criminal offense. In holding that the plaintiff's complaint failed to state a cause of action the court emphasized that "there is no allegation of bad faith, such as wilful falsity or malice, in the defendant's statement of the facts to the justice of the peace." (35 Cal.2d 482, 484.)