Anti-SLAPP

Hockey is a model whose authorized agent contracted for her to perform a 10-hour day's modeling for Brighton for $3,000 payable on receipt of the agent's invoice.  After modeling as agreed, Hockey sued Brighton, claiming it was her employer and that it violated Lab. Code 201 by not paying her the full amount due at the time her employment ended… Read More

This decision affirms an order denying an Anti-SLAPP motion in this malicious prosecution case as to the plaintiff in the underlying case, but reverses as to that party's attorneys.  The prior action, a CEQA challenge to a project to build a school on property adjoining the underlying plaintiff's horse ranch, lacked probable cause insofar as it alleged noise from the… Read More

Plaintiffs sued claiming they had been sexually molested while minors by a Roman Catholic priest.  They sought to hold the Archdiocese vicariously liable for ratifying the molestation and directly liable for its own negligence in failing to supervise the priest.  The trial court correctly denied the Archdiocese's Anti-SLAPP motion.  The gravamen of the complaint was the priest's sexual molestation and… Read More

The gist of a teacher's FEHA claim for retaliation for filing a complaint with the DFEH was the defendant's adverse employment action, not the protected activity of the investigation it conducted leading up to that action or its later protected action of defending the adverse employment action before a review commission.  Accordingly, the case did not arise from conduct protected… Read More

After firing Towner, an investigator in the County's District Attorney's office, the County sought a writ of mandate to enjoin the County's Civil Service Commission from reviewing the termination.  In support of its writ petition, the County publicly filed confidential reports of its investigation of Towner's conduct, in violation of Gov. Code 832.7, part of the Police Officer's Bill of… Read More

The trial court erred in denying defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion.  Plaintiff's complaint was based on allegedly false statements made in reports posted by plaintiff on the Internet, accusing a Chinese company of defrauding investors by claiming inflated sales based on purchases by intermediaries like plaintiff who then resold the product.  Public postings on the Internet are a public forum for purposes… Read More

The trial court erred in granting defendants' Anti-SLAPP motion to strike this malicious prosecution case.  The evidence adduced on the motion showed that plaintiff had a probability of success in establishing the elements of the malicious prosecution claim.  The dismissal of the underlying action for lack of prosecution was potentially a favorable termination on the merits.  The original plaintiff was… Read More

This decision reverses an order denying an Anti-SLAPP motion by the author of a Facebook post that was later republished by BBC's Vietnamese Service about plaintiff, a self-made and proclaimed billionaire who co-founded a large Vietnamese company and dated a prominent Vietnamese model, thereby making himself a public figure in the Vietnamese community.  The defendant showed that his article was… Read More

Allegedly defamatory emails that Simplified sent Trinity and a co-defendant seeking documents and other information for its later-filed lawsuit were protected activity for purposes of the Anti-SLAPP statute (CCP 425.16(e)).  The emails were also protected by the absolute litigation privilege, so Trinity could not prove a probability of success on the merits.  The trial court properly granted Simplified's Anti-SLAPP motion… Read More

During a political campaign, one candidate's election manager wrote a letter to the editor, posted to websites and sent emails accusing plaintiff of having used his charitable foundation to make contributions to city council members in return for their voting to have plaintiff's company named as the contractor for a large construction project.  This decision holds that the trial court… Read More

In reaction to San Diegans for Open Government v. City of San Diego (2016) 247 Cal.App.4th 1306, the Legisalture amended CCP 128.5 to require in subdivision (f) that the court first find a motion, complaint or other filing to be frvolous under subdivision (a) and then not award sanctions until after a 21-day safe harbor as under CCP 128.7.  This… Read More

The trial court abused its discretion in refusing to consider defendant's reply declarations on its Anti-SLAPP motion.  The reply declarations addressed an issue that had been raised in the original moving papers--good faith in recording tje mechanics liens in issue, but addressed a particular unanticipated argument that the plaintiff raised in opposition to the motion--that litigation could not have been… Read More

Recording a mechanics lien is protected activity under CCP 425.16(e) (the Anti-SLAPP statute) even if the lien was improperly filed.  The lawfulness of the lien is taken into consideration only during the second step of Anti-SLAPP analysis--that is in considering whether the plaintiff has shown probability of success on the merits.  So the fact that this litigation arose from defendant's… Read More

One dentist brought a defamation action against his former partner, another dentist, for statements the defendant made to various other persons impugning the quality of the plaintiff's dentistry work.  The defendant filed an Anti-SLAPP motion which was granted, and plaintiff appealed.  Held:  Statements about the competency of a professional, like a dentist, concern a matter of public importance and so… Read More

This decision affirms the trial court's denial of the City's Anti-SLAPP motion to strike several allegations of allegedly protected activity from a complaint otherwise alleging contract and tort claims based on the City's obstruction of plaintiff's contract rights to process coal shipments through the Port of Oakland.  The decision ends with a lengthy and insistent call for reform of the… Read More

A signed, filed-endorsed minute order granting an Anti-SLAPP motion as to the entire complaint was a final appealable order.  Plaintiff had 60 days from the date the clerk mailed a copy of the order in which to appeal.  The appeal time was not extended when the trial court thereafter needlessly entered a one-page formal order granting the motion.  Plaintiff's motion… Read More

Shloss was Cohen's attorney in a disability discrimination suit Cohen brought against Golden State when one of its delivery drivers parked in a disabled persons parking spot to make a delivery.  Cohen claimed the delivery truck kept him from parking the disabled spot and thus blocked his access to nearby business A.  At trial, Cohen had no evidence to show… Read More

In reviewing an order denying an Anti-SLAPP motion in a malicious prosecution case, the appellate court applies the norrmal standard of review, drawing all inferences in favor of the non-moving party.  Those inferences will not affect the case when it proceeds to trial.  And the appellate court's affirmance of the order denying the Anti-SLAPP motion will only preclude a summary… Read More

The trial court correctly denied defendant's Anti-SLAPP motion in this bad faith case by an insured against its insurer.  The insured claimed the insurer had breached its duty of good faith by retaining conflicted counsel, failing to pay amounts owed, and misleading Trilogy regarding obligations under the policies.  The insured alleged that the insurer urged or compelled defense counsel to… Read More

A candidate for public office petitioned for a writ of mandate challenging the opposing candidate's ballot statements as misleading.  The petition was dismissed on the merits; then the real party's (opposing candidate's) AntiSLAPP motion was denied as moot and his separate motion for a private attorney general fee award was denied on the ground he had not shown his defense… Read More