California Court of Appeal

In a suit by a restaurant for abuse of process and malicious prosecution against a patron who had sued it for ADA violations, the trial court's denial of an anti-SLAPP motion to strike is reversed, where: 1) the ADA complaint arose from protected activity and was a proper subject of a motion made pursuant to the anti-SLAPP statute; and 2) the plaintiff failed to meet its burden of demonstrating a likelihood it would prevail on the merits of its claims for abuse of process and malicious prosecution, since a) the litigation privilege foreclosed the pursuit of the abuse of process cause of action, and b) the restaurant's successful invocation of the defense of res judicata in the underlying ADA claim, which resulted in a voluntary dismissal, was not a favorable determination on the merits necessary for a malicious prosecution action.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/17/2012
• Published 05/17/2012

Judges

• Mosk

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Law Offices of Julie Mehrban, Law Office of Steve Hernandez