Thomas v. Quintero - established anti-SLAPP can
be used to strike a civil harassment 527.6 complaint,
discusses lack of discovery

If the purpose of the civil harassment application is to stop Free Speech or access to government, if may be a Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation or SLAPP suit.  The California legislature created the powerful Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 especially to defend against such malicious lawsuits.


In Thomas v. Quintero, 126 Cal.App.4th 635 (2005), a landlord with many rental units filed a petition for civil harassment, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 527.6, seeking to enjoin defendant and others from demonstrating and leafleting against the landlord's eviction, maintenance and other practices. The trial court denied the defendant's anti-SLAPP motion on the ground that the anti-SLAPP law did not apply to petitions for injunction against civil harassment.


            The Court of Appeal reversed and ordered the lawsuit dismissed, holding that civil harassment petitions are potentially subject to the anti-SLAPP law, that the defendant's activities constituted speech in connection with an issue of public interest and therefore the anti-SLAPP law applied, and that the plaintiff had failed to show that his lawsuit had any merit.


See the California Anti-Slapp Project for more complete information about anti-SLAPPs.

Nothing contained herein is tendered as nor should it be considered as legal advice.  What is legal is not necessarily justice.  Almost all of reality is non-"published", ergo, what is legally affirmed is always a retarded misrepresentation of reality.   Use at your own risk!