Podcasts
SLAPP004 – Anti-SLAPP Motion: Yelp v. McMillan Law Group
In this 4th episode of the California SLAPP Law Podcast, I discuss the truly strange legal action brought by Yelp against one of its former customers, the McMillan Law Group.
In its complaint, Yelp alleges that it works to maintain the purity of the reviews posted on Yelp.com, and that the McMillan Law Group caused damage to Yelp by posting false positive reviews. McMillan Law Group has just responded with an anti-SLAPP motion. Together, we dissect both the Yelp complaint and the McMillan anti-SLAPP motion, and predict the outcome of the motion.
Here are the cases discussed in today’s show:
Romona Unified School District v. Tsiknas (2005) 135 Cal.App.4th 510.
Mann v. Quality Old Time Service, Inc. (2004) 120 Cal.App.4th 90.
Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, Inc. v. Happening House Ventures (2010) 184 Cal.App.4th 1539, 1559 (dissenting opinion).
Oasis West Realty, LLC v. Goldman (2011) 51 Cal.4th 811.
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SLAPP003 – Anti-SLAPP Procedures and Strategies
A lot of useful information in today’s show, if I do say so myself.
We discuss anti-SLAPP procedures and strategies, and what you need to know about the 60 and 30 day deadlines for anti-SLAPP motions, and an easy and efficient way to protect your anti-SLAPP motion if the court clerk won’t set the hearing in 30 days or less.
I show you why it can be risky to amend a complaint, and why using a motion to supplement might be a better bet.
And we even discuss some tips for appeals and motions for summary judgment, as well as a free WordPerfect app for your iPad.
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SLAPP002 – Can Claims Against Lawyers Be Defeated with an Anti-SLAPP Motion?
In the last episode of the California SLAPP Law Podcast, I explained how crucial it is for every California litigator to understand this sweeping area of the law. There is virtually no litigation practice that won’t be impacted by the anti-SLAPP statutes.
If that was not persuasive enough, let me bring in a little closer to home. In today’s episode I discuss the common causes of action that are pursued against attorneys, and examine which of those have been found to fall under the anti-SLAPP statutes. Can claims against lawyers be defeated with anti-SLAPP motions?
Here are the cases discussed in today’s show:
BLEAVINS v. DEMAREST (2011) 196 Cal. App. 4th 1533; 127 Cal. Rptr. 3d 580.
In a neighbor dispute, court determined if a party to an action can sue the opposition’s attorney for malpractice.
OASIS WEST REALTY v. KENNETH GOLDMAN (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 688; 106 Cal.Rptr. 3d 539
Does an attorney breach the duty of loyalty owed a former client when he or she actively takes a position against the former client on the same issue for which the lawyer previously had been retained, even though the lawyer is acting on his or her own behalf and there is no subsequent representation or employment?
KOLAR v. DONAHUE, MCINTOSH & HAMMERTON (2006) 145 Cal. App. 4th 1532
Holding that legal malpractice actions are categorically outside the reach of the anti-SLAPP statute.
ZAMOS v. STROUD (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 60, 1 Cal.Rptr.3d 484
A malicious prosecution action can be based only on the filing of a lawsuit.
PEREGRINE FUNDING, INC. v. SHEPPARD MULLIN RICHTER & HAMPTON (2005) 133 Cal. App. 4th 658
Discusses breach of fiduciary duty action against law firm and the interplay of California’s SLAPP Law.
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SLAPP001 – Why Every Litigator Must Know California SLAPP Law
California’s SLAPP Law provides for the use of special motions to strike, called “anti-SLAPP motions,” to quickly dispose of lawsuits that were filed only to improperly silence free speech or to prevent the defendant from pursuing a lawful legal remedy.
But as one person put it, the 15 Legislators who passed the law failed to consider the 4,000 attorneys who would interpret it. There is a dark side to California’s SLAPP Law. It trades one form of abuse for another. It was designed to protect free speech and the right of redress, but now it keeps some legitimate cases out of court because the risks are just too high. And with its automatic right of appeal, it is used to greatly delay trials. Any anti-SLAPP motion, no matter how ill-conceived, gives the defendant an automatic right of appeal. A defendant can therefore delay a trial for a year or more just by filing an anti-SLAPP motion.
Finally, with the right to attorney fees it provides, it provides unscrupulous attorneys with a mechanism that allows them to recover windfall fees.
With Episode 1 of the California SLAPP Law Podcast, I take you through the history of the anti-SLAPP statutes, and explain why every California litigator must be familiar with this law.
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