On March 10, 2020 a
Motion,Ex Parte
was filed
involving a dispute between
Englanoff, Joseph,
and
Steed, Casey Lynn,
for (23): Unlimited Other PI/PD/WD
in the District Court of Merced County.
Preview
Superior Court of California, County of Merced
MINUTE ORDERS
Joseph Englanoff 8:30 AM - 8:45 AM
vs Motion
Casey Steed
20CV-01159
Date of Hearing: 07/20/2020
Heard By: Lo, Paul Location: ; Courtroom 3
Courtroom Reporter: M. Valdez Courtroom Clerk: M. George
Court Interpreter:
Court Investigator:
Parties Present: Future Hearings:
The case is regularly called for hearing:
- The Court has read and considered the: Special Motion to Strike
The Court states its tentative ruling
The Court notes that there was no request for oral argument made but there is no one appearing in
court today.
The Court orders:
The tentative ruling is confirmed by the Court as follows:
The Special Motion to Strike brought by Defendant Casey Steed is DENIED. In Flately v. Mauro (2006) 39
Cal.4th 299, 311-321, the California Supreme Court held that the Anti-Slapp statutes does not apply to
Speech and Petitioning Activity that is Illegal as a matter of law and, therefore, not Constitutionally
protected. Since the sole basis for the claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress in the instant
lawsuit is the alleged unlawful threat, not the opposition to the land use proposal, the Anti-Slapp statute
does not apply because the speech that is the subject of the lawsuit is not Constitutionally protected.
Even if the Anti-Slapp statute were to apply, Plaintiff has demonstrated a reasonable probability that
Plaintiff will prevail on the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. While the court finds the
Anti-Slapp motion to be without merit, it does not find the motion to be sufficiently frivolous as to justify
an award of attoney's fees to Plaintiff.
The prevailing party is directed to prepare a written order consistent with the Court's ruling for the
Court's signature, pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 3.1312, and to provide notice thereof to the
opposing party/counsel as required by law and the California Rules of Court. The order is to be submitted
by electronic filing to Hon. Paul C. Lo.
Printed: 7/20/2020 07/20/2020 Motion - 20CV-01159 Page 1 of 1
Document Filed Date
July 20, 2020
Case Filing Date
March 10, 2020
Category
(23): Unlimited Other PI/PD/WD
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