Equilon Enterprises v. Consumer Cause, Inc.

Proposition 65, formally known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, authorizes private citizens to sue to enforce its provisions after first giving written notice of a water pollution violation. The notice encourages polluters to "clean up their act" before they are sued, and it alerts government authorities to water pollution problems. A consumer group sent a notice of intent to sue under Proposition 65 to two oil companies and to several government agencies. The consumer group's notice asserted that the oil companies' gas stations are releasing toxic chemicals into the soil and polluting local groundwater.

The oil companies targeted by the Proposition 65 notice promptly responded to the specter of litigation with a preemptive lawsuit against the consumer group. The trial court dismissed the oil companies' case on the grounds that it is an impermissible strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP). We affirm because (1) Proposition 65 notices fall within the type of speech or right to petition protected by the SLAPP statute, and (2) the oil companies are unlikely to prevail on their claims.

On October 14, 1998, respondent Consumer…