• Start 2023 Strong by Mastering the New 2022 Case Law in Your Practice Areas. 
  • Comply with Rule 1.1 of the CA Rules of Professional Conduct. 
  • Save Time. Get Bigger Settlements. Win More Trials. Make More Money in 2023.

Start 2023 strong by knowing and applying the new 2022 civil case law in your practice areas. Make 2023 your best law practice year yet 

To get all of our 2022 civil case summaries and to keep getting our summaries throughout 2023, subscribe today to California Case Summaries Complete™. Subscribers get all of my California Case Summaries™ publications (monthly, quarterly and annual) for a significantly reduced price compared to subscribing to each one separately. My one paragraph summaries, that you can read in 2 minutes, help California lawyers easily keep current with the new case law in their practice areas, work up their cases better, get bigger settlements, and win more trials to make more money.
To subscribe today to California Case Summaries Complete™click here.

Below is a free sample of one of my new civil case summaries.


Can Attorney Fees Be Awarded for Filing a Frivolous Anti-SLAPP Motion?

Anti-SLAPP motions give defendants an opportunity to quickly knock out the plaintiff’s case and also get an award of attorney fees. But is there any punishment if a defendant files a frivolous anti-SLAPP motion? Last month, the Third District Court of Appeal published a new decision addressing this issue. To find out what they decided, watch the video and read my case summary below.

New CA Anti-SLAPP/Code of Civil Procedure Decision  

City of Rocklin v. Legacy Family Adventures etc. (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 17827565: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s order denying defendants’ anti-SLAPP motion to strike (Code of Civil Procedure, section 425. 16) and it’s order awarding plaintiff attorney fees of $72,798.65 and costs of $1,053.31 because the anti-SLAPP motion was frivolous. The anti-SLAPP motion was filed against 4 of 12 causes of action in plaintiff’s complaint regarding a joint undertaking involving the construction and operation of a theme park called Quarry Park Adventures. The parties did not actively dispute that the speech at issue in those causes of action was commercial speech, to which section 425.16 does not apply. Instead, the parties debated whether the speech concerning the theme park qualified under the “artistic work” exception (section 425.17(d)(2)) to the commercial speech exemption (section 425.17(c)). The trial court was not bound by an expert opinion offered by defendants and it properly carried out its duty to interpret the statute and made its determination as a matter of law as to whether a theme park would qualify as an artistic work under section 425.17(d)(2). The trial court correctly sustained plaintiff’s objection to paragraphs in the expert declaration as relayed case-specific hearsay. (People v. Sanchez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 665, 676.) Finally, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorney fees to plaintiff pursuant to section 128.5 as incorporated in section 425.16(c), because any reasonable attorney would agree that defendants’ special motion to strike on the ground that the proposed theme park was an artistic work was totally devoid of merit. (C.A. 3rd, December 21, 2022.)   


 California Case Summaries™
Publications

California Case Summaries Complete: This publication includes our monthly, quarterly and annual publications with one paragraph summaries that can be read in 2 minutes, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published each year. You’ll save serious money by subscribing to this publication instead of separately subscribing to our monthly, quarterly and annual publications! To subscribe, click here.

California Case Summaries Annual: Published early each January. This publication has our excellent one paragraph summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published each year, with the official case citations. To subscribe, click here. 

California Case Summaries Annual – Employment™To subscribe, click here. 
California Case Summaries Annual – Real Property™To subscribe, click here. 
California Case Summaries Annual – Torts™To subscribe, click here.
Published early each January with our short civil case summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published each year in these practice areas, with the official case citations.

California Case Summaries Quarterly™: short summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published by California courts each quarter, with the official case citations.
To subscribe, click here.

 California Case Summaries Monthly™:  short summaries, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published by California courts every month. To subscribe, click here. 


Join Our Email List: To get my free summaries of the 22 new civil cases published by the California Supreme Court in 2021, click here.


Mediation, Arbitration & Referee Services

I help attorneys and their clients settle cases as a mediator, and decide cases or issues as an arbitrator or referee at ADR Services, Inc. I handle cases in the areas of business, employment, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death. I conduct Zoom and in-person hearings throughout California.
To schedule a matter, please contact my case managers at ADR Services, Inc., Haward Cho, (213) 683-1600, haward@adrservices.com or Rachael Boughan, (619) 233-1323, 
rboughan@adrservices.com. 

 

Stay safe and healthy.

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
California Case Summaries™
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Master Lawyer Mentoring™

CA Civil Trial Attorney Since 1980
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312.
Email: monty@montymcintyre.com 

Photo of Monty McIntyre (CA Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee) Monty McIntyre (CA Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee)

Monty A. McIntyre is a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. where he handles cases in the areas of business, commercial, employment, insurance, real property and torts (elder abuse, personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death) throughout California. Monty also publishes…

Monty A. McIntyre is a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. where he handles cases in the areas of business, commercial, employment, insurance, real property and torts (elder abuse, personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death) throughout California. Monty also publishes California Case Summaries™ providing one paragraph summaries, that can be read in two minutes, organized by legal topic, of every new civil case published in California in monthly, quarterly and annual subscription editions to help attorneys keep current on new case law, win more and make more money. Monty also mentors less experienced attorneys with his Master Lawyer Mentoring™ services where he helps attorneys develop important skills, learn to work up and present their cases strategically, avoid mistakes and implement excellent systems to win more, make more money and build their dream law practice. Monty has been a CA civil trial lawyer since 1980, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) since 1995, an arbitrator since 1985, and a mediator and referee since 2001. Monty had the honor and privilege of serving as the president of the San Diego County Bar Association in 2002 and the president of the San Diego ABOTA Chapter in 2014. In his civil trial practice, Monty represented both plaintiffs and defendants in the areas of law listed above and tried over 100 cases to conclusion including jury trials, judge trials, administrative trials, and arbitrations. For more information regarding Monty’s background and experience, click on: Monty McIntyre: ADR Services or Monty McIntyre Mediation