Procedural Posture
The San Diego County Superior Court, California, granted in part defendants' special motion to strike plaintiff former chief financial officer's first amended complaint pursuant to Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16. The trial court left standing plaintiff's causes of action against all of the defendants for breach of contract, defamation, invasion of privacy, and unfair business practices under the Unfair Competition Law. Both sides appealed.
Overview
Plaintiff's lawsuit stemmed from representations made in a press release concerning defendant company's internal investigation into its handling of certain research and development test data and results, which issued on the same day that defendants filed a legally required disclosure of information to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The court concluded that plaintiff did not meet his burden to show his causes of action fell within the commercial speech exemption of Code Civ. Proc., § 425.17, and thus they were subject to being stricken under § 425.16. Plaintiff did not show the allegedly defamatory portions of the press release were representations of fact about the company's representations business operations, goods, or services. However, the absolute and qualified privileges of Civ. Code, § 47, did not apply to the press release, litigation attorney California and plaintiff otherwise demonstrated a probability of prevailing on his causes of action for defamation, invasion of privacy, unfair business practices. and breach of contract. There was enough circumstantial evidence to support a prima facie case that malice motivated the statements made concerning plaintiff in the press release.
Outcome
The order was affirmed.