Adams v. Aidoo

Ashley Adams (defendant) lived two houses down from Yaw Aidoo and Ninette Aidoo (plaintiffs). Adams repeatedly harassed the Aidoos, accusing them of engaging in misconduct and of causing her property values to decline, complaining about them to the homeowners’ association, and threatening to buy a pit bull and set it on them. One evening, Yaw received a text message from an unknown number that implied he was having an affair with the text’s sender. The Aidoos called the number, and the call was answered by an individual who sounded angry. Ninette, worried that the couple was being watched, called the police. After investigating and determining that Adams had sent the text, the police made the independent decision to arrest Adams for harassment. Adams sued the Aidoos, alleging multiple causes of action, including malicious prosecution, and requesting a total of $21 million in damages. Prior to trial, Adams sent the Aidoos excessive discovery requests, causing them to incur nearly $80,000 in legal bills. At trial, Yaw testified that the paperwork he had received in connection with Adams’s lawsuit would easily create a four-foot-tall stack of paper. The Aidoos filed a counterclaim for abuse of process. Adams was ultimately unable to prove her allegations against the Aidoos, and her claims were dismissed. The jury found Adams liable for abuse of process and awarded the Aidoos $250,000 in damages. Adams moved for a new trial.