It has been said that appellate writ proceedings that result in a reversal of a trial court order “are an exceptionally rare species, seen only slightly more often than the passenger pigeon.” See Overton v. Superior Court, 22 Cal. App. 4th 112, 115 (1994); see also B. Yeoman, Audobon Magazine, May-June 2014, “Why the Passenger Pigeon Went Extinct.”
On August 2, 2016, Morgan E. Pietz and the Gerard Fox Law, P.C. Appeals and Critical Motions Group bagged this rare bird and scored a key victory on behalf of an anonymous “John Doe” client in case with important First Amendment implications. In John Doe 2 v. Los Angeles Superior Court (Hydraulx), Cal. Ct. App. No. B269087 (2nd Dist., Aug. 2, 2016) (certified for publication) the California Court of Appeal granted Doe 2’s writ
John Doe 2 was accused by Hydraulx, a Hollywood visual effects company run by Greg and Colin Strause, of defaming the company via anonymous emails. The trial court had initially allowed Hydraulx to try and discover Doe 2’s true identity. In granting the writ, the Court of Appeal put a stop to that, holding that the statements made by Doe 2 were not defamatory, and that Doe 2 had a right to engage in anonymous free speech and should therefore not be identified. This case illustrates why companies and celebrities need to proceed very carefully before filing lawsuits aimed at identifying anonymous online critics.
The case will now be returned to the trial court for final determination of John Doe 2’s anti-SLAPP motion. John Doe 2 will seek to recover his attorneys’ fees.