Bruce

When their family home in Fresno, California (the Property), was foreclosed on pursuant to a forged or fraudulent second deed of trust, Rebecca and Victorino Baquiran filed an action to quiet title to the Property and recorded a lis pendens. Thereafter, the party that had purchased the Property in good faith at the foreclosure sale, La Jolla Group II and its partners, Leroy Kleim and Alan Boyajian (collectively appellants), filed a complaint for slander of title against the Baquirans and the Baquirans’ attorney, Daniel A. Bruce and the Law Offices of Zinkin & Bmce (collectively respondents), alleging that the recording of the lis pendens was unprivileged and wrongfully prevented appellants from being able to sell the Property. Respondents then filed a special motion to strike the slander of title complaint under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 (also known as an “anti-SLAPP” motion). 1 In ruling on the motion, the trial court concluded that (1) the recording of the lis pendens was a protected activity under section 425.16 and (2) appellants did not establish a probability of prevailing on their slander of title complaint. The trial court reached the latter…