Cabrera

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Veronica Cabrera sued defendant Mohammed Alam for defamation, based on statements he made at a homeowners association’s annual meeting immediately before the membership’s election of the association’s board of directors. Defendant was running for reelection to the board of directors. Plaintiff, a past president of the board of directors, had actively campaigned against defendant and in favor of a competing slate of candidates. At the time that the allegedly defamatory statements were made, plaintiff was speaking on behalf of one of the candidates challenging defendant’s reelection, having been given that candidate’s “power of attorney” to represent him at the meeting. Plaintiff accused defendant of having mismanaged the association’s finances and stated the association was missing money. In response, defendant accused plaintiff of stealing money from the association and defrauding it.

*1082 The trial court denied defendant’s special motion to strike plaintiff’s defamation claim under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, commonly referred to as the anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) statute (the anti-SLAPP motion). 1…