Wilcox v. Superior Court

1 Analyses of this case by attorneys

  1. Lead Article: Application of State Anti-SLAPP Laws in Federal Court

    Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLPJune 15, 2022

    nti-SLAPP statute; (ii) the recent adoption and development of anti-SLAPP legislation in other states; and, (iii) the split among federal courts as to the applicability of state anti-SLAPP laws. II. California’s Anti-SLAPP Statute and Recent DevelopmentsA. Unique Procedural Mechanisms Available Under California’s Anti-SLAPP StatuteAs a means to combat nuisance lawsuits that are intended to chill free speech, state legislatures have introduced legislation offering increased protection from those suits. California became the first state to introduce anti-SLAPP legislation in 1992, and by far has the most robust body of anti-SLAPP case law. California’s anti-SLAPP law provides for a “screening mechanism” by which the plaintiff who brings an action arising out of protected speech or petition activity, at the outset of the SLAPP suit, must “make a prima facie showing [verified under oath] which would, if proved at trial, support a judgment in [the plaintiff’s] favor.” Wilcox v. Super. Ct., 27 Cal. App. 4th 809, 823 (1994); Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 425.16(b)(1). Specifically, once the moving defendant has demonstrated that the plaintiff’s cause of action arises from “protected” speech or activity, “the burden shifts to the plaintiff to establish a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.” Kyle v. Carmon, 71 Cal. App. 4th 901, 907 (1999).This screening process, in effect, functions much like a motion for summary judgment, with the defendant being able to challenge the merits of a plaintiff’s case. One difference, however, is that the filing of a motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute in California automatically stays discovery. See Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Oracle Corp., 239 Cal. App. 4th 1174, 1185 (2015); Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 425.16(g). Another difference is that, unlike a motion for summary judgment, an anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss places the burden on a plaintiff to demonstrate that they possess a “legally sufficient claim which is ‘substantiated,’ that is, supported by competent