Motion: By Defendant Alma Beltran in Demurrer to the Complaint
Tentative Ruling:
To overrule the demurrer in its entirety, with defendant Alma Beltran granted 10 days’ leave to file her answer to the complaint. The time in which the answer can be filed will run from service by the clerk of the minute order.
Explanation:
Defamation
“The elements of a defamation claim are (1) a publication that is (2) false, (3) defamatory, (4) unprivileged, and (5) has a natural tendency to injure or causes special damage.” (Issa v. Applegate (2019) 31 Cal.App.5th 689, 702, internal quotes omitted.) Plaintiffs have clearly alleged a publication by defendant, since they allege she, or her agent, posted the picture attached as Exhibit 1 (itself an arrangement of photos and text) to her Facebook account. A person posts something to Facebook so it can be seen by others. Whether or not the post violated Facebook terms of use is not the point, and the fact that plainti........