Privato Security Co. v. Sidman CA6

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant George Sidman founded a company called WebLOQ, Inc. (WebLOQ). Sidman was chair of the WebLOQ board of directors (Board) before he resigned and entered into a settlement agreement with WebLOQ in 2011. WebLOQ ceased operations in 2012 and its assets were assigned to a new company, Privato Security, LLC (Privato). Privato subsequently filed an action against Sidman alleging that Sidman was liable for breach of his settlement agreement with WebLOQ. Privato’s complaint included causes of action for libel, breach of contract, unfair competition, and injunctive and declaratory relief. Sidman responded to the complaint by bringing a special motion to strike under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16,1 the anti-SLAPP2 statute, which provides that a

1 All further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure unless otherwise indicated. cause of action arising from constitutionally protected speech or petitioning activity is subject to a special motion to strike unless the plaintiff establishes a probability of prevailing on the claim. (§ 425.16, subd. (b)(1).) The trial court granted Sidman’s anti- SLAPP motion as to the cause of action for libel and…