Hiring Decision Involved Exercise Of Free Speech.

Plaintiff filed a discrimination complaint alleging that CBS Broadcasting refused to hire him as a weather news anchor because of his gender and age. CBS filed a motion to strike the complaint pursuant to the anti-SLAPP statute [Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16], arguing that its selection of a newscaster qualified as an act in furtherance of its free speech rights. The trial court denied the motion, concluding that plaintiff’s claims did not arise from CBS’s hiring decision, but rather from its discriminatory employment practices. The appellate court found plaintiff’s claims involve the exercise of free speech, and reversed the order and remanded for the trial court to consider whether plaintiff demonstrated a reasonable probability of prevailing on the merits of his claims. (Hunter v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc. (Cal.App. Second Dist., Div. 7; December 11, 2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 1510, [165 Cal.Rptr.3d 123].)