Bierbower

J.You cannot make a mountain out of a typo. Nor can you, at least in this case, make a defamation suit, (la) Today we hold that a discrepancy in an office memo concerning the date on which an alleged incident of sexual harassment took place is insufficient evidence of malice for purposes of whether a company investigation of the alleged harassment is protected by the “common interest” privilege against defamatory communications. (See Civ. Code, § 47, subd. (c).)

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Civil Code section 47, subdivision (c) extends a conditional privilege against defamation to communications made without malice on subjects of mutual interest. (Civ. Code, § 47, subd. (c) [“A privileged publication ... is one made: ffl] . . . ffl] (c) In a communication, without malice, to a person interested therein, (1) by one who is also interested . . . .”].)

A number of cases have now established that this “mutual interest” privilege covers investigations of sexual harassment complaints by private employers when made without malice. (See Cruey v. Gannett Co. (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 356, 369 [ 76 Cal.Rptr.2d 670 ] [“The conditional privilege set out in subdivision (c) of section 47 potentially applies in…