Miles

INTRODUCTION

This is a defamation action related to a workers’ compensation case. Plaintiff and appellant Andrew John Miles (plaintiff) is a chiropractor who treated an injured worker. Defendants and respondents are California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) and Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. (Sedgwick) (collectively, defendants), the workers’ compensation insurer1 and third-party claims administrator, respectively. Plaintiff sued CIGA and Sedgwick for defamation after Sedgwick sent two letters to the injured worker (as well as counsel for the worker and for CIGA) falsely stating that plaintiff had been indicted for fraud or misuse of Medicare, Medi-Cal, or the workers’ compensation system. Defendants admitted the statements about plaintiff’s indictment were false but asserted the statements were privileged. Defendants moved for summary judgment under Civil Code2 section 47, subdivision (c) (section 47(c)), which extends a conditional privilege against defamation to statements made without malice on subjects of mutual interest. Here, defendants

1 CIGA is an association created by California law that is responsible for paying a portion of the insurance claims…