Nguyen-Lam

Defendant Sinh Cuong Cao appeals from the trial court’s order following a hearing on his strike motion under the anti-SLAPP statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 (all further unlabeled section references are to this code). Concluding the evidence submitted by the parties for the hearing demonstrated a probability plaintiff Kimoanh Nguyen-Lam would prevail in establishing defendant slandered her with actual malice, the trial court authorized plaintiff to amend her complaint to plead actual malice. Plaintiff claimed that but for defendant’s false accusation in a telephone conversation with Westminster School District (WSD) board members that she was a “Communist,” and repeated republications of the false statement, the WSD school board (Board) would not have rescinded her appointment as the nation’s first Vietnamese superintendent of a public school district.

Contending the amendment order amounted to a denial of his strike motion, defendant argues the trial court erred because (1) plaintiff failed to allege actual malice in her original complaint and the trial court erroneously permitted amendment; (2) the “Communist” epithet no longer constitutes slander per…