Thayer

Plaintiff sued attorneys who handled a class action in Los Angeles, based on the attorneys’ handling of the settlement proceeds in that action—an action in which plaintiff was not a party. Defendants filed an anti-SLAPP motion to strike the complaint, asserting that plaintiff’s lawsuit dealt with protected activity and that she could not demonstrate a likelihood of prevailing on the merits. The trial court denied the motion under the first step of the anti-SLAPP analysis, and did not reach step two.

Defendants appeal, and we review the matter de novo, concluding first that plaintiff’s lawsuit arose out of protected activity. And we go on to decide step two, and hold that plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a likelihood of prevailing on the merits. We thus reverse, with instructions to enter an order *145 granting the motion to strike, and to hold a hearing to determine the amount of attorney fees to which defendants are entitled for their success in having the lawsuit stricken.

BACKGROUND

The Parties

According to the allegations of her verified complaint, plaintiff-respondent Anne W. Thayer (Thayer) and “her spouse” were “co-owners of a resort membership.” Thayer’s…