Sabre Rattling Does Not A SLAPP Action Make.

After an attorney sent letters threatening litigation over a contract dispute, a plaintiff filed a declaratory relief action. The defendant, the one whose lawyer threatened litigation, filed an anti-SLAPP motion pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, which the trial court denied. In affirming the denial of defendant’s anti-SLAPP motion, the appellate court stated the complaint is not based on plaintiff’s sabre-rattling demand letters, and that “[i]n deciding whether a lawsuit is a SLAPP action, the trial court must distinguish between speech or petitioning activity that is mere evidence related to liability, and liability that is based on speech or petitioning activity.” (Gotterba v. John Travolta  (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 6; July 22, 2014) 228 Cal.App.4th 35, [175 Cal.Rptr.3d 47].)