Bui

Discussion. office, plaintiff filed a defamation action against defendants which also alleged causes of action for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiff appeals from the trial court’s grant of a special motion to strike her complaint pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16,1 the anti-SLAPP statute. She argues the court erred in concluding she was a limited purpose public figure who needed to demonstrate actual malice in conjunction with her defamation claim. In the published portion of the opinion, focusing on the specific evidence that was before the trial court, we find the evidence did not demonstrate plaintiff was something other than a private figure for defamation purposes. That is, the totality of the circumstances did not demonstrate she thrust herself into the vortex of a public issue in an attempt to influence the outcome or that she assumed special prominence in the resolution of a public debate. In the remainder of the opinion, considering the proper standard and plaintiff’s private figure status, we conclude plaintiff demonstrated the requisite minimal merit of her defamation claim, but she did not do so for her emotional…