Appellants, investors and investment analysts, sought review of orders from the Superior Court of Marin County (California), which denied their Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, special motions to strike causes of action brought by respondents, a corporation and two individuals, for libel, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage, violations of California's unfair competition law, and violations of Corp. Code, § 25400.
Overview: unruh civil rights act damages
The complaint alleged that the investment analysts, acting at the direction of the investors, published reports that contained false and defamatory statements about the corporation and some of its officers. Motions to strike the entire complaint were filed. In opposition to these motions, the corporation submitted the declaration of a financial officer who identified false statements in the reports about the corporation's accounting practices and described how these false assertions damaged the corporation by causing its stock prices to drop. The corporation also submitted evidence that the investors requested negative reports on the corporation and sometimes edited the reports. The court held that there was sufficient evidence of libel under Civ. Code, §§ 44, subd. (a), 45, to defeat the anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) motions. Moreover, the evidence of manipulation of stock prices supported the trial court's orders as to the other causes of action. Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200, was sufficiently broad to reach securities transactions. The corporation adequately pleaded injury in fact as required by Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 17204, 17535.
Outcome
The court affirmed the orders that denied the special motions to strike.