Liberi v. Defend Our Freedoms Foundations, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Orly Taitz and Defend Our Freedoms Foundations, Inc. (collectively “Defendants”) appeal the district court’s order denying their anti-SLAPP motion to strike the original complaint brought against them by Lisa Liberi, Philip J. Berg, Lisa M. Ostella, the Law Offices of Philip J. Berg, and Go Excel Global (collectively “Plaintiffs”). We dismiss their appeal as moot.

Shortly after the district court denied Defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion to strike the original complaint, Plaintiffs filed their First Amended Complaint. Thus, the original complaint is no longer the operative complaint and is without legal effect— the First Amended Complaint has superseded it. See Lacey v. Maricopa Cnty., 693 F.3d 896, 927 (9th Cir.2012) (en banc) (recognizing “the general rule ... that an amended complaint supercedes the original complaint and renders it without legal effect”). In light of the filing of the First Amended Complaint, Defendants’ appeal is moot. Even assuming we were to find error in the district court’s denial of Defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion to strike the original complaint, we could not grant any meaningful form of relief. Dismissal of the superseded original complaint would…