Robertson

Plaintiff and appellant John O. Robertson (Robertson) appeals a judgment striking his complaint and dismissing his action pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 and awarding $15,000 in attorney fees to defendants Alex Rodriguez (Rodriguez), Jack Cluck, Joseph Graffio and David Silva (collectively, defendants).

Defendants also appeal, seeking review of the trial court’s attorney fees ruling, and contend they were entitled to an award of $23,847.

The issues include whether section 425.16 is applicable to a cause of action which arose before its effective date, the standard for determining whether a claim has a “probability” of prevailing, and whether the statute authorizes an award of “reasonable” attorney fees to a prevailing defendant as opposed to the defendant’s actual attorney fees.

We conclude the statute applies to actions which accrued before its effective date because it does not change the legal effect of past conduct. A plaintiff may withstand a motion to strike by demonstrating sufficient facts to establish a prima facie case. Further, the prevailing party, whether plaintiff or defendant, is limited to recovery of reasonable attorney fees. For…