California Supreme Court Issues anti-SLAPP Decision in Class Action Advertising Case

In Simpson Strong-Tie Company, Inc. v. Gore (May 17, 2010) 49 Cal.4th 12, a manufacturer of galvanized screws filed an action for defamation and related claims against an attorney after the attorney placed newspaper advertisements stating that owners of wood decks, built with manufacturer's galvanized screws, “may” have legal rights to compensation or other relief. The trial court granted the attorney's anti-SLAPP motion to dismiss the action, and the manufacturer appealed.

The Supreme Court granted review "to consider the limited issue whether [the manufacturer's] complaint was exempt from the anti-SLAPP statute because of section 425.17, subdivision (c), which excludes causes of action arising from representations of fact about the speaker's or a competitor's 'business operations, goods, or services ... made for the purpose of obtaining approval for, promoting, or securing sales or leases of, or commercial transactions in, the person's goods or services' or 'made in the course of delivering the person's goods or services.'"

The Court found that the plaintiff -- in this case the manufacturer -- bears the burden of proving that its complaint is not exempt from dismissal under the anti-SLAPP statute. The Court then held that the manufacturer had not met this burden and affirmed the trial court order dismissing the complaint.