Anti-SLAPP statute does not apply to statements made to HOA during board meetings | Lexology

June 12, 2014 | Author Aaron Morris

“In a recent opinion, the California Court of Appeal decided that a builder cannot use the anti-SLAPP statute to circumvent fraud-based claims where there were misrepresentations by the builder to the homeowners association regarding repairs for defects at the project.”

Aaron Morris‘s insight:

The use of the anti-SLAPP statute was doomed from the start, but it was a novel attempt. During the time that the HOA board was still dominated by the developer’s own employees, it voted to charge the members for certain repairs. A later Board determined that the developer was responsible for the repairs, and sued to recover the costs of the repairs. The developer brought an anti-SLAPP motion, unsuccessfully claiming that the vote of the developer-dominated Board was protected speech.

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