“Defamatory language not libelous on its face is not actionable unless the plaintiff alleges and proves that he has suffered special damage as a result thereof.” Cal. Civ. Code § 45a. Thus, unless a statement is defamatory per se, Cross-Complainant must plead special damages.

SPECIAL MOTION TO STRIKE (2004). Statements are defamation per se when they (i) defame without the need for an explanation (Cal. Civ. Code § 45a), (ii) tend to directly injure the “plaintiff’s business by imputing something with reference to the plaintiff’s business that has a natural tendency to lessen its profits” (Mann, 120 Cal. App. 4th at 107, citing Cal. Civ. Code § 46), or (iii) imply defamatory content without the necessity of knowing extrinsic explanatory matter. MacLeod v. Tribune Publ’g Co., 52 Cal. 2d 536, 548–50 (1959).

Where a statement is not defamatory on its face, Plaintiff must prove special damages. Cal. Civ. Code § 45a; Forsher v. Bugliosi, 26 Cal.3d 792, 806–07 (1980). Special damages are “damages that plaintiff alleges and proves that he or she has suffered in respect to his or her property, business, trade, profession, or occupation, including the amounts of money the plaintiff alleges and proves he or she has expended as a result of the alleged libel, and no other.”

As Case 5:15-cv-00991-JVS-DTB Document 23-1 Filed 07/25/16 Page 31 of 34 Page ID #:322 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 24 Case No. 15-cv-00991- JVS-DTB MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT 25591311_1.DOCX relevant to this case, statements are defamatory per se only when they directly injure one with respect to his profession by imputing a general disqualification in areas required by the occupation. Cal. Civ. Code §§ 45a and 46. As applicable here, to demonstrate slander per se, Plaintiff must show that the statement “prejudice[d] him in the special profession or business in which he is actually engaged.”

One Alarm Monitoring, Inc., 628 F. Supp. 2d 1173 (E.D. Cal. 2007) ....................13 STATUTES Cal. Civ. Code § 45 ......................................................................................................................9, 12 Cal. Civ. Code § 45a ........................................................................................................................11 Cal. Civ. Code § 48a ........................................................................................................................10 RULES Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(d)...............................................................................................................1, 5, 6, 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 DEFS.’

................................. 15 St. Amant v. Thompson, 390 U.S. 727, 88 S.Ct. 1323, 20 L.Ed.2d 262 (1968) ............................... 19, 23 Suzuki Motor Corp. v. Consumers Union of the U.S., Inc., 330 F.3d 1110 (9th Cir. 2003) ................................................................... 19, 23 Time, Inc. v. Firestone, 424 U.S. 448, 96 S.Ct. 958, 47 L.Ed.2d 154 (1976) ....................................... 14 Virgil v. Time, Inc., 527 F.2d 1122 (9th Cir. 1975) ......................................................................... 15 Weinberg v. Feisel, 110 Cal. App. 4th 1122 (2003 ................................................................... 14, 17 Widener v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., 75 Cal. App. 3d 415 (1977) ............................................................................. 23 STATUTES AND REGULATIONS  Cal. Civ. Code § 45 .................................................................................................... 17 Cal. Civ. Code § 45a .................................................................................................. 17 Cal. Civ. Code § 46 .................................................................................................... 17 Cal.

“Defamatory language not libelous on its face is not actionable unless the plaintiff alleges and proves that he has suffered special damages as a proximate result thereof.” Cal. Civ. Code § 45a. A statement is libelous “on its face” if the defamatory character is apparent without reference to any further explanation or surrounding circumstances.24 Special damages are all damages plaintiff suffered in respect to his property, business, trade, profession or occupation, including such amounts of money as plaintiff alleges he has expended as a result of the alleged libel.