Leslie Patterson v. Denise Lawhorn, 685 F. App'x 258

Patterson was charged via six felony and seven misdemeanor complaints sworn by Denise Lawhorn, a former Virginia Dept. of Taxation investigator, alleging underreported personal income (2007–2010), improper credit for employee withholdings (2007–2008), and the church’s unpaid quarterly withholdings (2009–2010).
The Commonwealth entered orders of nolle prosequi as to all 13 complaints, and Patterson then sued Lawhorn for malicious prosecution (under Virginia law) and for a Fourth Amendment violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
The district court granted summary judgment to Lawhorn on both claims; Patterson appealed.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit reviewed de novo and framed the malicious-prosecution elements under Virginia law: lack of probable cause, malice, causation/cooperation, and favorable termination.
The court found documentary evidence and Lawhorn’s investigation (conversations with church personnel and account review) established probable cause; Patterson’s contrary explanations were not enough to create a genuine issue of fact.
Because probable cause existed, both the malicious-prosecution claim and the § 1983 Fourth Amendment claim failed; the Fourth Circuit affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Malicious prosecution — probable cause	Patterson: Lawhorn lacked probable cause to swear complaints given exculpatory explanations and investigative deficiencies	Lawhorn: Investigation and documents gave a reasonable belief of criminality; Patterson’s self-serving statements could be disbelieved	Held: No genuine issue — probable cause existed; malicious-prosecution claim fails
Malicious prosecution — other elements (malice, causation, favorable termination)	Patterson: Argued malice/cooperation and favorable termination supported the claim	Lawhorn: Probable cause defeats claim; other elements insufficient without lack of probable cause	Held: Court disposed claim on lack of probable cause; other elements not enough to prevail
§ 1983 Fourth Amendment — lack of probable cause/unreasonable seizure	Patterson: Lawhorn’s actions deprived him of Fourth Amendment rights by pursuing charges without probable cause	Lawhorn: Probable cause supported the complaints; constitutional claim fails	Held: Probable cause established; § 1983 claim fails

Core Commc’ns, Inc. v. Verizon Md. LLC, 744 F.3d 310 (4th Cir. 2014) (standard of review for summary judgment)
Reilly v. Shepherd, 643 S.E.2d 216 (Va. 2007) (elements and general disfavor of malicious-prosecution claims under Virginia law)
Brown v. Gilmore, 278 F.3d 362 (4th Cir. 2002) (probable cause standard for § 1983 claims alleging wrongful prosecution)