Cabral

Appellant’s ex-husband owes her a considerable sum in unpaid child support, for which appellant obtained a judgment against him in 1998. Since then, appellant has brought several actions against her ex-husband and his two siblings to attempt to collect on the judgment. In the present case, appellant sued not only her ex-husband and his siblings, but also several attorneys who represented the ex-husband, his siblings, and/or their mother. One of the attorneys revised the mother’s estate plan in a manner that appeared to disinherit appellant’s ex-husband. The others participated in probate court proceedings to effectuate the mother’s revised estate plan after her death, and/or defended appellant’s ex-husband and his siblings in other judicial proceedings through which appellant sought to collect her child support judgment. Appellant contends that in performing these acts, the attorneys violated a statute enacted in 2006 that authorizes treble damage awards against those who help a child support obligor avoid paying child support by assisting in the obligor’s transfer or concealment of assets.

The trial court granted the attorneys’ special motion to strike under the…