January 14, 2025 – Lathrop GPM is pleased to announce a precedent-setting win on behalf of Allison Littlefield, a trustee of The Pony Tracks Ranch Trust, in an anti-SLAPP dispute at the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Four. On January 14, 2025, the California Supreme Court elected not to review the case, validating the appeals court's opinion in support of Littlefield, and creating citable precedent throughout California and beyond.
"This victory not only affirms the validity of our client's lawsuit but also sets precedent for future defenses against frivolous anti-SLAPP motions," said Allonn Levy, Lathrop GPM partner and lead appellate counsel to Littlefield. "While the anti-SLAPP statute serves an important purpose, it's subject to abuse. Littlefield serves as a strong warning to trial courts and practitioners that misuse in trust disputes can have severe consequences."
The case stems from a petition filed by Littlefield against her brothers and aunt, the co-trustees of The Pony Tracks Ranch Trust, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty and the trust. The defendants sought to strike her petition using an anti-SLAPP motion, which the trial court denied on multiple grounds, including the moving party's failure to specifically identify how and why it claimed the petition arose from protected activity, and its failure to adhere to prior anti-SLAPP precedent. Despite the denial, the trial court did not find the motion to be frivolous and thus denied Littlefield's request for attorney's fees. The appeals court, however, reversed, finding the motion to be frivolous and approving the request for attorney's fees.
Littlefield establishes that a moving party may be subject to sanctions if an anti-SLAPP motion does not clearly identify the portion of the complaint that is at issue. The ruling clarifies that pointing only to the remedy sought cannot satisfy the anti-SLAPP threshold "identification" requirement, and that mischaracterizing complaint allegations to contrive First Amendment-protected activity subjects a party to potential sanctions. For example, in Littlefield, the movant failed—in two ways—to demonstrate that alleged deliberation over how to react to an employee's complaints was protected. First, the Littlefield court concluded that the deliberative process was not the core injury producing conduct alleged. And second, private personnel discussions held by a business do not usually trigger anti-SLAPP protection.
Notably, Littlefield also establishes precedent enabling trial courts to deny anti-SLAPP motions that challenge the entirety of complaints containing portions that the First Amendment does not protect. It may also signal a greater willingness by reviewing courts to find the rare "abuse of discretion" when trial courts do not find such motion to be frivolous under the anti-SLAPP statute.
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