VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 41.135
Issues and Allocation of Burdens of Proof—Where Defendant Is a Merchant
Your verdict must be based on the facts as you find them and on the law contained in all of
these instructions.
The issues in this case are:
(1) Did the defendant institute a criminal proceeding against the plaintiff?
(2) Did the criminal proceeding end in a manner [favorable; not unfavorable] to the plaintiff?
(3) Did the defendant act with malice?
On these issues, the plaintiff has the burden of proof.
(4) Was there probable cause to institute the criminal proceeding?
On this issue, the defendant has the burden of proof.
(5) If the plaintiff is entitled to recover, what is the amount of his damages?
On this issue, the plaintiff has the burden of proof.
Your decision on these issues must be governed by the instructions that follow.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- civ-2026-04-01
- Content hash
21cdd0d054397654a8843d5155492b1db8670845dc77a124935a7665d993cfba
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