Walsworth Secures Anti-SLAPP Victory for Orange County Law Firm

Partner Patricia Teunisse and Associate Newri Kim, assisted by Legal Assistants Sonia Gonzalez and Frances Villalobos, secured a defense victory on behalf of Walsworth’s clients, a law firm and its attorneys, after the Orange County Superior Court granted a special motion to strike under California’s anti-SLAPP statute.

The lawsuit arose from the resolution of prior litigation and alleged that Walsworth’s clients and others improperly negotiated a settlement that interfered with the plaintiff law firm’s claimed attorney fee lien. The plaintiff asserted multiple claims based on the settlement and related payment of settlement proceeds.

Walsworth argued that the claims arose from protected settlement activity and that the plaintiff could not establish a probability of prevailing. The court agreed, finding that the settlement negotiations and related conduct constituted protected activity under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. The court further found that the plaintiff failed to produce a written fee agreement supporting its claimed lien and therefore could not establish a probability of prevailing on its claims.

“This was an important result for our clients and one that underscores the protections afforded to participants in the litigation process,” said Teunisse.

The court agreed that the litigation privilege applied to the conduct at issue, providing an additional basis for rejecting the claims and granted the anti-SLAPP motions, resulting in a significant victory for Walsworth’s clients.