Colyear v. Rolling Hills Community Ass'n of Rancho Palos Verdes

Opinion

INTRODUCTION

Defendant homeowner Yu Ping Liu submitted an application to his homeowners association, defendant Rolling Hills Community Association of Rancho Palos Verdes (HOA), seeking to invoke the HOA’s dispute resolution process against a neighbor who refused to trim trees blocking Liu’s view. Plaintiff Richard C. Colyear, another neighbor and HOA member, sued Liu and the HOA, alleging that two of the offending trees were actually on his property, that the relevant tree-trimming covenant did not encumber his property, and therefore that Liu and the HOA were wrongfully clouding his

B. Liu’s Application and Colyear’s Complaint

In January 2015, in accordance with the process outlined in Resolution 220, Liu filed an “Application for Assistance to Restore View” with the HOA, identifying the Krauthamer property as the location of the obstructing trees or shrubs. In a statement attached to the application, Liu explained that the view from his residence was obstructed by several trees and hedges on the south side of the Krauthamers’ property. He said he had attempted to resolve the issue by speaking to Richard Krauthamer starting in late 2012, and by contacting the HOA’s city manager in June 2013 and requesting that she informally mediate the dispute. As a result, according to Liu, Krauthamer agreed to trim his trees but never did so. Liu also attached to his application several photographs of the offending trees and hedges. The application does not reference Colyear or Colyear’s property.

As an adjoining property owner, Colyear received notice of Liu’s application shortly after it was submitted. Colyear then filed the instant action on March 4, 2015, seeking writ relief and naming Liu, the HOA, its board, and individual board members as respondents. Colyear alleged that Liu’s application “may implicate” trees on Colyear’s property.

Liu withdrew his application to the HOA on April 14, 2015. As a result, the HOA never issued any decision on the application. Following the withdrawal, the HOA had no pending applications involving either Liu or Colyear’s property.

In August 2015, the trial court sustained the demurrers filed by all defendants, and granted leave to amend. Colyear filed an amended pleading, including a petition for writ of traditional mandate and prohibition against the HOA and its board, and a verified complaint “for Declaratory Relief, Injunctive Relief, To Quiet Title, and for Damages” against all defendants (FAC). The FAC sought a declaration, among other things, that Colyear’s lot was not subject to the tree-trimming covenant in Declaration 150 and that such covenant could not be enforced against his lot or other lots not encumbered by that declaration, and that Resolution 220 was void to the extent it purported to enforce such tree-trimming covenants in this manner. Colyear further alleged that some of the offending trees designated by Liu on

DISCUSSION

“A SLAPP is a civil lawsuit that is aimed at preventing citizens from exercising their political rights or punishing those who have done so. ‘ “While SLAPP suits masquerade as ordinary lawsuits such as defamation and interference with prospective economic advantage, they are generally meritless suits brought primarily to chill the exercise of free speech or petition rights by the threat of severe economic sanctions against the defendant, and not to vindicate a legally cognizable right.” ’ [Citations.]” (Simpson Strong-Tie Co., Inc. v. Gore (2010) 49 Cal.4th 12 , 21 [ 109 Cal.Rptr.3d 329 , 230 P.3d 1117 ] (Simpson).)

The Legislature has declared that “it is in the public interest to encourage continued participation in matters of public significance, and . . . this participation should not be chilled through abuse of the judicial process.” (§425.16, subd. (a).) To this end, the Legislature enacted section 425.16, subdivision (b)(1), which authorizes the filing of a special motion to strike for “[a] cause of action against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person’s right of petition or free speech under the United States Constitution or the California Constitution in connection with a public issue.” “[T]he Legislature expressly provided that the anti-SLAPP statute ‘shall be construed broadly.’ (§ 425.16, subd. (a).)” (Simpson, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 21.)

Analysis of a motion to strike pursuant to section 425.16 involves a two-step process. (Simpson, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 21.) “First, the defendant must make a prima facie showing that the plaintiff’s ‘cause of action . . . aris[es] from’ an act by the defendant ‘in furtherance of the [defendant’s] right of petition or free speech ... in connection with a public issue.’ (§425.16, subd. (b)(1).) If a defendant meets this threshold showing, the cause of action shall be stricken unless the plaintiff can establish ‘a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.’ (Ibid.)” (Simpson, supra, 49 Cal.4th at p. 21, fn. omitted.) “Only a cause of action that satisfies both prongs of the anti-SLAPP statute—i.e., that arises from protected speech or petitioning and lacks even minimal merit—is a SLAPP, subject to be stricken under the statute.” (Navellier v. Sletten (2002) 29 Cal.4th 82 , 89 [ 124 Cal.Rptr.2d 530 , 52 P.3d 703 ], italics omitted.)

We review a trial court’s decision on a special motion to strike de novo. (Flatley v. Mauro (2006) 39 Cal.4th 299 , 325 [ 46 Cal.Rptr.3d 606 ,

Under the first prong of a motion to strike under section 425.16, the moving party has the burden of showing that the cause of action arises from an act in furtherance of the right of free speech or petition—i.e., that it arises from a protected activity. (Zamos v. Stroud (2004) 32 Cal.4th 958 , 965 [ 12 Cal.Rptr.3d 54 , 87 P.3d 802 ].) Thus, the moving party must establish both (1) that its act constituted protected activity and (2) the opposing party’s cause of action arose from that protected activity. Colyear challenges Liu’s showing on both of these steps, so we examine each in turn.

A. Protected Activity

First, we must determine whether Liu’s speech was in fact protected conduct. To meet this burden, Liu must demonstrate that his statements fit one of the four categories of conduct set forth in section 425.16, subdivision (e): “(1) any written or oral statement or writing made before a legislative, executive, or judicial proceeding, or any other official proceeding authorized by law, (2) any written or oral statement or writing made in connection with an issue under consideration or review by a legislative, executive, or judicial body, or any other official proceeding authorized by law, (3) any written or oral statement or writing made in a place open to the public or a public forum in connection with an issue of public interest, or (4) any other conduct in furtherance of the exercise of the constitutional right of petition or the constitutional right of free speech in connection with a public issue or an issue of public interest.”

Liu asserts his conduct is protected under section 425.16, subdivision (e)(2) as a statement made in connection with an “official proceeding authorized by law,” or, alternatively, under subdivision (e)(4) as a statement made in connection with “an issue of public interest.” We agree that Liu’s conduct here is protected by section 425.16(e)(4); thus, we need not reach the issue of whether the HOA process is an “official proceeding” under subdivision (e)(2).

Colyear argues that Liu’s application involved a private tree-trimming dispute between two neighbors and therefore does not qualify as a matter of

Within these parameters, “ ‘public interest’ within the meaning of the anti-SLAPP statute has been broadly defined to include, in addition to government matters, ‘ “private conduct that impacts a broad segment of society and/or that affects a community in a manner similar to that of a governmental entity.” ’ (Du Charme v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 107 , 115 [ 1 Cal.Rptr.3d 501 ]....)” (Ruiz v. Harbor View Community Assn. (2005) 134 Cal.App.4th 1456 , 1468 [ 37 Cal.Rptr.3d 133 ] (Ruiz).) “[I]n cases where the issue is not of interest to the public at large, but rather to a limited, but definable portion of the public (a private group, organization, or community), the constitutionally protected activity must, at a minimum, occur in the context of an ongoing controversy, dispute or discussion, such that it warrants protection by a statute that embodies the public policy of encouraging participation in matters of public significance.” (Du Charme, supra, 110 Cal.App.4th at p. 119, italics omitted; see also Grenier, supra, 234 Cal.App.4th at p. 482.)

Applying these principles, several courts have found protected conduct in the context of disputes within a homeowners association. In Ruiz, for example, a homeowner sued his homeowners association, alleging letters written by association counsel defamed him. (Ruiz, supra, 134 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1463-1465.) The letters concerned a dispute over the association’s rejection of Ruiz’s building plans, and Ruiz’s complaints that the association was not applying its architectural guidelines evenhandedly. (Ibid.) The court concluded the letters fell within section 425.16(e)(4), noting, (a) the letters

Similarly, in Country Side Villas Homeowners Assn. v. Ivie (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 1110 , 1113 [ 123 Cal.Rptr.3d 251 ], the homeowner raised objections with her homeowners association over a change in practices regarding whether individual homeowners or the association had responsibility to pay for maintaining balconies and siding on individual units. The association filed suit against Ivie, seeking declaratory relief in interpreting the association’s governing documents regarding maintenance obligations. {Ibid.) The court found that Ivie’s complaints to the board were a matter of public interest, because her statements concerned issues “that affected all members of the association,” including whether all members would have to pay for maintenance costs assumed by the association. (Id. at p. 1118; see also Damon v. Ocean Hills Journalism Club (2000) 85 Cal.App.4th 468 , 479 [ 102 Cal.Rptr.2d 205 ] [protecting allegedly defamatory statements about the competence of a manager of a homeowners association]; Lee v. Silveira (2016) 6 Cal.App.5th 527 , 540 [ 211 Cal.Rptr.3d 705 ] [protecting complaints by homeowners association board members against other board members regarding board’s decisionmaking process in approving a large roofing project and a management company contract, as affecting “a broad segment, if not all,” association members]; Grenier, supra, 234 Cal.App.4th at p. 483 [defamatory statements accusing church pastor of theft and misuse of church funds, and of abuse, are of interest to the church’s 500 or more members, and therefore are of “public interest”]; Ludwig v. Superior Court (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 8 , 15 [ 43 Cal.Rptr.2d 350 ] [concluding that development of a mall, “with potential environmental effects such as increased traffic and impaction on natural drainage, was clearly a matter of public interest”].) By contrast, in Rivero, supra, 105 Cal.App.4th at p. 924, the court rejected anti-SLAPP protection for complaints in a union newsletter alleging a janitorial supervisor mistreated his employees. The court held that the allegedly defamatory statements were not a matter of public interest as they concerned “the supervision of a staff of eight custodians by Rivero, an individual who had previously received no public attention.” (Ibid.)

Here, the record presents sufficient evidence to sustain Liu’s burden that at the time he submitted his application, there was an ongoing controversy, dispute, or discussion regarding the applicability of tree-trimming covenants to lots not expressly burdened by them, and the HOA’s authority to

Colyear does not dispute that the issue of the board’s authority to apply tree-trimming covenants to all lots in the community is a subject of interest to the entire membership of the community, and therefore meets the definition of “public interest” under section 425.16(e)(4). (See, e.g., Damon v. Ocean Hills Journalism Club, supra, 85 Cal.App.4th at p. 479 [“Although the allegedly defamatory statements were made in connection with the management of a private homeowners association, they concerned issues of critical importance to a large segment of our local population. ‘For many Californians, the homeowners association functions as a second municipal government. [Citation.]”].) Instead, he argues that the proper focus for this step in the anti-SLAPP inquiry must be much narrower, and that here, Liu’s application only directly involved two homeowners—Liu and the Krauthamers—and was therefore a private dispute rather than an issue of public interest. Colyear further asserts that to the extent his complaint raised the broader issues of enforceability of the tree-trimming covenant and HOA governance, his conduct cannot serve to insulate Liu’s statements. We agree with the principle that we must avoid looking to “society’s general interest in the subject matter of the dispute instead of the specific speech or conduct upon which the complaint is based.” (World Financial Group, Inc. v. HBW Ins. & Financial Services, Inc. (2009) 172 Cal.App.4th 1561 , 1570 [ 92 Cal.Rptr.3d 227 ]; see also Commonwealth Energy Corp. v. Investor Data Exchange, Inc. (2003) 110 Cal.App.4th 26 , 34 [ 1 Cal.Rptr.3d 390 ] [cautioning against the “synecdoche theory of public issue in the anti-SLAPP statute,” where “[t]he part [is considered] synonymous with the greater whole”].)

However, we are not persuaded that Liu’s statement here lacks the requisite degree of closeness with the asserted public interest. As discussed, Liu’s application itself invoked the same HOA processes that Colyear (and other community members) sought to challenge. The cases rejecting anti-SLAPP

B. Claim Arises From Protected Activity

We next turn to Colyear’s claim that, even if Liu’s statement was protected, Colyear’s complaint did not arise out of that statement. We disagree.

“Our Supreme Court has recognized the anti-SLAPP statute should be broadly construed [citation] and that a plaintiff cannot avoid operation of the anti-SLAPP statute by attempting, through artifices of pleading, to characterize an action as a garden variety tort or contract claim when in fact the claim is predicated on protected speech or petitioning activity. [Citation.] Accordingly, we disregard the labeling of the claim [citation] and instead ‘examine the principal thrust or gravamen of a plaintiff’s cause of action to determine whether the anti-SLAPP statute applies’ .... [Citation.]” (Hylton v. Frank. E. Rogozienski, Inc. (2009) 111 Cal.App.4th 1264 , 1271-1272 [ 99 Cal.Rptr.3d 805 ].) We assess the principal thrust by identifying “[t]he allegedly wrongful and injury-causing conduct . . . that provides the foundation for the claim.” (Martinez v. Metabolife Internat., Inc. (2003) 113 Cal.App.4th 181 , 189 [ 6 Cal.Rptr.3d 494 ].) “If the core injury-producing conduct upon which the plaintiff’s claim is premised does not rest on protected speech or petitioning activity, collateral or incidental allusions to protected activity will not trigger application of the anti-SLAPP statute. [Citation.]” (Hylton, supra, 177 Cal.App.4th at p. 1272.) “[T]he critical point is whether the plaintiff’s cause of action itself was based on an act in furtherance of the defendant’s right of petition or free speech.” (City of Cotati v. Cashman (2002) 29 Cal.4th 69 , 78 [ 124 Cal.Rptr.2d 519 , 52 P.3d 695 ], italics omitted.) “In other words, ‘the defendant’s act underlying the plaintiff’s cause of action must itself have been an act in furtherance of the right of petition or free speech. [Citation.]’ ”

Colyear argues that the dispute here arose from “the question of the applicability of a tree-trimming covenant”; conversely, he argues, “Liu’s application to enforce the covenant against Colyear’s property was simply the trigger for Colyear’s suit to resolve that question.” He further notes that the trial court’s reliance on “but-for causation” in analyzing the issue was therefore in error. To the extent the trial court focused on whether Liu’s application caused Colyear to file a lawsuit, such an analysis would provide an insufficient basis from which to find that Liu had established the lawsuit arose out of his protected conduct. Based on our independent review, however, we conclude that Liu did make the requisite showing.

Liu’s application did not simply “trigger” Colyear’s lawsuit, as Colyear claims. Rather, the gravamen of Colyear’s claims against Liu was the allegation that by submitting an application to the HOA concerning property unencumbered by Declaration 150, Liu invoked an invalid HOA process and clouded Colyear’s title. As such, the only injury-producing conduct Colyear alleges Liu committed was Liu’s petitioning act.

These circumstances are factually distinct from cases, including those cited by Colyear, in which the defendant’s protected speech was ancillary to the heart of the plaintiff’s claims. In City of Cotati v. Cashman, supra, 29 Cal.4th at pp. 71, 72 for example, owners of mobilehome parks brought a declaratory relief action against the city in federal court seeking a judicial determination that the city’s mobilehome park rent-control ordinance constituted an unconstitutional taking. In response, the city sued the park owners in state court, also requesting a declaration regarding the constitutionality and enforceability of the rent-control ordinance. (Id. at p. 72.) The city conceded that its state lawsuit was triggered by the federal action and was an attempt to “gain a more favorable forum” in which to litigate the issue. (Id. at p. 73.) As the Supreme Court explained, “the mere fact an action was filed after protected activity took place does not mean it arose from that activity.” (Id. at pp. 76-77.) Instead, because the “fundamental basis” for both actions was the “same underlying controversy respecting [the rent control] ordinance,” the city’s lawsuit “therefore was not one arising from [the park owners’] federal suit” and “was not subject to a special motion to strike.” (Id. at p. 80; see also, e.g., Talega Maintenance Corp. v. Standard Pacific Corp. (2014) 225 Cal.App.4th 722 , 729 [ 170 Cal.Rptr.3d 453 ] [homeowners association’s claim against board members arose from “the act of spending money in violation of [the board members’] fiduciary duties,” not from the vote that precipitated such expenditure]; McConnell v. Innovative Artists Talent and Literary Agency, Inc. (2009) 175 Cal.App.4th 169 , 176-177 [ 96 Cal.Rptr.3d 1 ] [talent

In sum, we conclude that Liu met his burden on the first prong of the anti-SLAPP motion to strike. We therefore turn to the second prong, i.e., whether Colyear met his burden to demonstrate a probability of prevailing on his claims against Liu.

Once a defendant satisfies the first prong of the anti-SLAPP analysis, “the burden shifts to the plaintiff to demonstrate that each challenged claim based on protected activity is legally sufficient and factually substantiated. The court, without resolving evidentiary conflicts, must determine whether the plaintiff’s showing, if accepted by the trier of fact, would be sufficient to sustain a favorable judgment. If not, the claim is stricken.” (Baral v. Schnitt (2016) 1 Cal.5th 376 , 396 [ 205 Cal.Rptr.3d 475 , 376 P.3d 604 ].) “In making this assessment it is ‘the court’s responsibility ... to accept as true the evidence favorable to the plaintiff . . . .’ [Citation.] The plaintiff need only establish that his or her claim has ‘minimal merit’ [citation] to avoid being stricken as a SLAPP.” (Soukup, supra, 39 Cal.4th at p. 291.)

Colyear contends he has shown his likelihood of success on his quiet title claim against Liu with evidence that (1) he has title and (2) Liu made a claim adverse to that title by invoking the tree-trimming covenant against Colyear’s property. However, the trial court found that Colyear’s quiet title claim against Liu was mooted by the withdrawal of Liu’s application. We agree. Assuming Liu’s application implicated Colyear’s property when filed, Liu withdrew his application before any action was taken, leaving no pending challenges against Colyear’s property. Thus, at the time Colyear filed his FAC, there was no “adverse claim” by Liu against Colyear’s property (§§ 760.020, 761.020 [elements to quiet title claim]), and no effective relief the court could grant against Liu. (See, e.g., Giles v. Horn (2002) 100 Cal.App.4th 206 , 227 [ 123 Cal.Rptr.2d 735 ] [court “ ‘cannot render opinions “ ‘. . . upon moot questions or abstract propositions, or to declare principles or rules of law which cannot affect the matter in issue in the case before