Premier Health Partners v. EGO CA2/5

I. INTRODUCTION

Cross-complainant EGO, Inc., dba Brault (EGO), filed a cross-complaint against cross-defendants Premier Health Partners, Inc. (Premier) and Dr. Anthony Cardillo alleging various causes of action. In response, Premier and Cardillo filed special motions to strike under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, the anti-SLAPP statute.1 The trial court denied the motions, finding that EGO’s claims did not arise from protected petitioning activity. Premier and Castillo appeal. We affirm.

II. BACKGROUND

A. The Parties’ Business Relationship

Premier was a company that managed emergency medicine departments. Cardillo was Premier’s president and chief executive officer (CEO). He was also the chief financial officer

Further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure. “A ‘SLAPP’ is a ‘“strategic lawsuit against public participation”’ [citation], and special motions to strike under section 425.16 are commonly referred to as ‘[a]nti-SLAPP motions’ [citation].” (Bonni v. St. John Health System (2021) 11 Cal.5th 995, 1007, fn. 1 (Bonni).)

2 (CFO) and managing partner of Glendale Adventist Emergency Physicians, Inc. (Glendale Adventist), another company…