Norman

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Hayley Marie Norman filed a complaint alleging that her idea for a television series was stolen by defendants Tracee Ellis Ross, Artists First, Kenya Barris, Brian Dobbins, Touchstone Productions dba ABC Studios (ABC), and Big Breakfast LLC. Norman alleged her idea for a series—which she intended to star in, write for, and produce—was turned into a sitcom by defendants without her permission or involvement. Defendants contend the sitcom, a spinoff of an existing television series, was not based on Norman’s ideas. Norman filed a complaint alleging breach of implied-in-fact contract, breach of confidence, promissory estoppel, and other claims. The defendants filed special motions to strike under Code of Civil Procedure, section 425.16, the anti-SLAPP statute. 1 The

All further undesignated statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure. “SLAPP” stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation.” (FilmOn.com Inc. v. DoubleVerify Inc. (2019) 7 Cal.5th 133, 139.) Big Breakfast did not file an anti- SLAPP motion, and is not a party to this appeal.

2 trial court granted the motions in full as to Barris, Dobbins, and ABC; the court…