21CV02970
BALL v. WOWACK, et al.
SPECIAL MOTION TO STRIKE FAC
Defendants’ special motion to strike the First Amended Complaint is granted.
The court must engage in a two-prong analysis on an anti-SLAPP motion, with shifting
burdens of proof as to each prong. First, defendant has the burden of making a threshold prima
facie showing that the action arises from protected activity, i.e. that the acts complained of were
taken in furtherance of the defendant’s “right of petition or free speech in connection with a
public issue.” Where a cause of action is “mixed,” and is based on both protected and non-
protected activity, the entire cause of action may be stricken under §425.16 if the principal thrust
or gravamen of the claim is protected activity.
I
Hearing Date
September 30, 2022
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21CV02970
BALL v. WOWACK, et al.
SPECIAL MOTION TO STRIKE FAC
Defendants’ special motion to strike the First Amended Complaint is granted.
The court must engage in a two-prong analysis on an anti-SLAPP motion, with shifting
burdens of proof as to each prong. First, defendant has the burden of making a threshold prima
facie showing that the action arises from protected activity, i.e. that the acts complained of were
taken in furtherance of the defendant’s “right of petition or free speech in connection with a
public issue.” Where a cause of action is “mixed,” and is based on both protected and non-
protected activity, the entire cause of action may be stricken under §425.16 if the principal thrust
or gravamen of the claim is protected activity.
I