There exists a long line of libel and slander rulings in California holding a plaintiff may not fabricate a cause of action by herself or himself publishing defamatory statements to others. The defendant must typically cause the publication. A plaintiff’s manufacturing a libel claim, for instance, does not create a valid legal cause of action. However, courts have created an …
Defamation: Anti-SLAPP Motions, Mixed Causes of Action and the Litigation Privilege in Los Angeles and San Diego
Last month a Los Angeles Court of Appeals decided a libel case involving mixed causes of action, i.e., claims including legally protected and unprotected statements or activity, in framework of the litigation privilege.1 The defendant-cross-complainant-respondent (Kettler) is a financial planner and advisor who assisted plaintiffs elderly parents for 20 years. Shortly after their deaths, the plaintiff daughter sued for misappropriation …