Stenehjem v. Sareen (CA6 H038342 6/13/14) Anti-SLAPP/Employee Demand Letter was Extortion A SLAPP suit is one in which the plaintiff “seeks to chill or punish a party’s exercise of constitutional rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of grievances. [Citation.]” (Rusheen v. Cohen (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1048, 1055.) The California Legislature in 1992 enacted Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16—the anti-SLAPP statute—under which SLAPP suits may be disposed of summarily by a special motion to strike. But if the “assertedly protected speech or petitioning activity [is] illegal as a matter of law, . . . [defendant] cannot use the anti-SLAPP statute to strike the plaintiff’s complaint.” (Flatley v. Mauro (2006) 39 Cal.4th 299, 305 (Flatley).) In Flatley, our high court held that a defendant’s (attorney Mauro’s) prelitigation demand—which he characterized in his appeal from an order denying his special motion to strike as “permissible settlement negotiations” (id. at pp. 328)—was extortion as a matter of law and therefore not protected activity under the anti-SLAPP law. In this case, we must determine whether a cross-defendant’s prelitigation demand (like Mauro’s in Flatley) was extortion. If so, the special motion to strike that was based upon that demand should have been denied. Jerome Stenehjem sued his former employer, Akon, Inc., and Surya Sareen, Akon’s president and chief executive officer, for defamation, among other causes of action. Sareen countersued for civil extortion. Sareen alleged in an amended cross-complaint (Cross-Complaint) that Stenehjem (1) had asserted, through his counsel, a prelitigation claim for defamation; and (2) had later, while representing himself, made a written threat by e-mail to file a false criminal complaint against Sareen unless he paid Stenehjem monies to settle his defamation claim. Stenehjem’s e-mail demand mentioned a potential qui tam suit; alluded to accounting documents created by Stenehjem at Sareen’s specific direction, and referred to potential involvement of the United States Attorney General, Department of Justice, and Department of Defense. Sareen alleged that Stenehjem’s demand constituted extortion in violation of criminal laws. Stenehjem moved to strike the Cross-Complaint. He contended that (1) the Cross-Complaint was based upon prelitigation communications that were protected statements under the anti-SLAPP statute (§ 425.16, subd. (e)(2)); and (2) Sareen could not establish a probability of prevailing because Stenehjem’s communications were subject to the litigation privilege of Civil Code section 47, subdivision (b). The court granted Stenehjem’s motion, dismissing the Cross-Complaint. Sareen appeals the order of dismissal. He contends the special motion to strike should have been denied because Stenehjem’s threat constituted extortion that was not protected speech under the anti-SLAPP statute. Sareen argues further that even if Stenehjem had made an initial showing that his activity was protected, Sareen met his burden of demonstrating a probability of success on his claim. We conclude after a de novo review of the record that the conduct underlying the Cross-Complaint––Stenehjem’s prelitigation e-mail demand, when considered in the context in which the demand was made—constituted extortion as a matter of law that was not protected under the anti-SLAPP statute. Accordingly, we will reverse the order granting the motion to strike the Cross-Complaint. courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/H038342.PDF
Posted on: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:54:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015