Woods
MCSi, Inc. v. Woods
Opinion
Opinion
Fogel, J.
ORDER DENYING SPECIAL MOTION TO STRIKE
On October 7, 2002, the Court heard Defendant Woods’ Motion to Strike All Causes of Action of First Amended Complaint under California Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16. The Court has read the moving and responding papers and has considered the oral arguments presented by counsel. For the reasons set forth below, the motion will be denied.
I. BACKGROUND
Plaintiff MCSi Inc. (“MCSi”) alleges that Defendant Audio Fidelity Communications Corporation d/b/a The Whitlock Group (“Whitlock”) committed numerous acts of unfair competition against the In-tellisys Group, Inc. (“Intellisys”), from whom MCSi purchased substantially all assets, including the instant claims against Whitlock. MCSi and Whitlock are two of the largest audio-visual companies in the country and are direct competitors. Robert B. Woods (“Woods”) is a former Site Manager at Intellisys who left to become an employee of Whitlock.
On August 29, 2001, MCSi filed suit in the Santa Clara Superior Court asserting unfair competition and business practices in the form of negative statements about MCSi. Woods posted these statements under a pseudonym in web postings on chat boards operated…