Phanichkul

I. Background This lawsuit is the third of three lawsuits arising from a soured business relationship involving Phanichkul and the defendants. A. The Parties and the Circumstances that Led to the Three Lawsuits2 According to the allegations of the complaint in the present lawsuit: Phanichkul is a marketing and branding consultant and entrepreneur who “ma[kes] his living by assisting others to create, develop and exploit their brands for financial gain”; and the Yengs are entrepreneurs who own, co-own, and operate several businesses. In 2016, Phanichkul began performing marketing and other services for

a business—YMT—that Steve and Scott3 had “formed . . . for the purpose of holding various bars and/or restaurants owned by the Yengs.” During the timeframe in which he was performing such services for YMT, Phanichkul also began discussing with Steve and Brittany the idea of mass producing a

All unspecified statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure. SLAPP is the acronym for a strategic lawsuit against public participation. Except where otherwise indicated, each statement appearing in part I.A. of this opinion is drawn from the complaint in the present…