Filed 11/21/16

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

MEDICAL MARIJUANA, INC., et al.,

Plaintiffs and Respondents,

v.

PROJECTCBD.COM et al.,

Defendants and Appellants.

 D068523

 (Super. Ct. No. 37-2014-00036039-

 CU-DF-CTL)

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, 

Joel R. Wohlfeil, Judge. Affirmed; remanded for further proceedings.

Greenberg Traurig and Tyler R. Andrews for Defendants and Appellants.

Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch, Kendra J. Hall; Phillip E. Koehnke and 

Phillip E. Koehnke for Plaintiffs and Respondents.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Defendants ProjectCBD.com (Project CBD), Martin Lee, and Aaron Cantu (jointly 

"the Project CBD defendants") appeal from the trial court's order denying their special 
2

motion to strike1 counts 1 and 3, asserting causes of action for libel and false light, in the 

first amended complaint filed by plaintiffs Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MMI) and 

HempMeds PX, LLC (HempMeds) (jointly "the plaintiffs").

On appeal, the Project CBD defendants contend that the trial court incorrectly 

determined that the plaintiffs demonstrated a probability of prevailing on counts 1 and 3 

against the Project CBD defendants. The Project CBD defendants also claim that the trial 

court erred in concluding that the plaintiffs are not limited public figures, meaning that 

the plaintiffs would not have to demonstrate that the Project CBD defendants acted with 

actual malice in publishing an article about the plaintiffs, and/or that the court erred in 

concluding in the alternative that the plaintiffs demonstrated that the Project CBD 

defendants acted with actual malice in publishing the article.

We conclude that the trial court's ruling with respect to the Project CBD 

defendants' anti-SLAPP motion directed at counts 1 and 3 was correct, albeit on grounds 

different from those relied on by the trial court. We therefore affirm the court's order and 

remand the matter for further proceedings.

 

1 Also known as an "anti-SLAPP motion," filed pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure 

425.16, subdivision (b)(1).
3

II.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Factual background2

1. The parties

Plaintiff MMI holds investments in numerous industrial hemp businesses, 

including plaintiff HempMeds. HempMeds manufactures and sells RSHO, a product 

containing cannabidiol (CBD) derived from the industrial hemp plant. MMI also holds 

interests in KannaLife Sciences, Inc.

According to the first amended complaint, Jason Cranford, another defendant, 

resigned from KannaLife's Board of Directors and then began competing with MMI and 

HempMeds by selling CBD products through his Colorado medical marijuana 

dispensary, Rifle Mountain, LLC (Rifle Mountain), which is also named as a defendant in 

the case.

Defendant Project CBD is a California nonprofit organization that identifies itself 

as an organization dedicated to promoting and publicizing research regarding CBD and 

other components of the cannabis plant. Defendant Martin Lee is Project CBD's founder 

and director. According to Lee, "Project CBD does not solicit customers anywhere. It 

sells no products whatsoever." However, a witness declaration presented with respect to 

the Project CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion states that the witness observed Lee 

 

2 Because we are reviewing the record on the court's ruling on the Project CBD 

defendants' anti-SLAPP motion, we take this factual background from the allegations of 

the operative complaint, as well as from evidence presented to the court with respect to 

the anti-SLAPP motion.
4

promoting and selling a competing CBD product called " 'Care By Design.' " On this 

basis, the plaintiffs assert that "Lee is in the industrial hemp business and uses the 

auspices of his purported non-profit, Project CBD, for promoting his products in 

competition with MMI."

Defendant Aaron Cantu wrote an article about MMI, HempMeds, Kannaway and 

the RSHO product. The article, originally published on the Project CBD website on 

October 14, 2014, and "[u]pdated" on November 4, 2014, is titled " 'Hemp Oil HustlersA Project CBD Special Report on Medical Marijuana Inc., HempMeds & Kannaway' "

(the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article). Also named as defendants in the case are CannLabs, 

Inc. (CannLabs); Genifer Murray, identified as the chief executive officer of CannLabs; 

and Stewart Environmental Consultants, LLC (Stewart Labs).

2. The factual allegations in the operative pleading giving rise to the lawsuit

According to the operative pleading, after Cranford resigned from the board of 

KannaLife, Cranford, through Rifle Mountain, began to sell CBD products in direct 

competition with RSHO. On or around April 26, 2014, Cranford posted on Facebook 

that he intended to have RSHO tested at a diagnostic lab. Cranford also allegedly posted 

that a child had become sickened after having a bad reaction to RSHO.

Rather than have the RSHO sample tested at the facility Cranford identified in his 

April 26, 2014 Facebook posting, Cranford took the sample to Stewart Labs to be tested 

for "volatile organic compounds (VOC) and heavy metal concentrations."

According to the pleading, in late May 2014, Stewart Labs released to Cranford a 

"preliminary report" regarding the RSHO sample. The plaintiffs allege that after 
5

receiving the preliminary report, Cranford immediately released copies of " 'preliminary'

test results" on another individual's Facebook page, and posted on his own Facebook 

page information regarding where the results had been posted.

The plaintiffs further allege that on May 8, 2014, Murray "posted false statements 

about Plaintiffs and its RSHO on the internet." The plaintiffs incorporated into the 

operative pleading a quotation of Murray's alleged false statements. Plaintiffs allege that 

on May 19, 2014, another individual "re-posted" Murray's statements, with very minor 

alterations to the text. On May 26, 2014, another individual "who followed Cranford's 

story, posted [on Facebook] the photos of preliminary test results from Stewart [Labs] 

that Cranford had previously posted." According to the complaint, as a result of Murray 

and Cranford's Facebook "announcements," "people throughout the world have read and 

followed the story and re-posted it on their Facebook timelines, further publishing the 

false statements concerning Plaintiffs."

At some point after the "re-post[ing]" of Murray's statements, Cranford allegedly 

posted to Facebook a solicitation for contact from individuals who "had suffered negative 

reactions after taking Plaintiffs' RSHO product."

According to the operative complaint, on May 30, 2014, Stewart Labs published 

the final test results from its analysis of the RSHO sample that had been submitted to it 

by Cranford. The plaintiffs allege that "[t]he final results showed significant different 

reporting values, especially for heavy metals such as lead, molybdenum, nickel, 

selenium, and silver, among other metals." Despite being aware of the Stewart Labs final 

test results, on June 1, 2014, Cranford posted a link to a statement written on Facebook 
6

by " 'Sarah Hadigan' " who asserted in her statement that her " 'daughter is dead because 

of this product [i.e., RSHO],' " among other things.

The operative pleading does not allege further conduct by any of the defendants 

after June 1, 2014, until October 14, 2014, the date on which the plaintiffs allege that the 

Project CBD defendants "published" the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article on Project CBD's 

website. In the portion of the first amended complaint in which the plaintiffs set forth the 

general allegations on which they base their later enumerated claims for relief (i.e., in the 

general allegations of the pleading), they allege that the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article was 

written by Cantu and published by Project CBD on its website and then further published 

on other websites,3 and that in the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article, the Project CBD 

defendants "claimed to have evidence that RSHO was contaminated with heavy metals

and solvents without verifying the accuracy of the results from Stewart Environmental,"

and "alleged that multiple people became ill after using RSHO due to heavy metals and 

other toxins based on Cranford's opinion."

According to the operative complaint, MMI's stock price "has plummeted" ever 

since the named defendants "made these announcements." Plaintiffs assert that they have 

been harmed by the defendants' actions "in excess of one hundred million dollars."

 

3 It has not been alleged that the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article was published on 

Facebook.
7

B. Procedural background

1. Trial court proceedings

On January 16, 2015, the plaintiffs filed their first amended complaint, the 

operative pleading for purposes of this appeal.4 The first amended complaint states five 

pleaded counts against all of the named defendants, including libel (count 1), trade libel 

(count 2), false light (count 3), negligence (count 4), and intentional infliction of 

emotional distress (count 5). Attached to the complaint are multiple exhibits.

The first amended complaint recites all of the factual allegations regarding the 

Project CBD defendants' conduct vis-à-vis the plaintiffs in three paragraphs (paragraphs 

50, 51, and 52), which are included under the heading "FACTS COMMON TO ALL 

CLAIMS."5 These three paragraphs focus on the Project CBD defendants' publication of 

the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article.

The Project CBD defendants responded to the complaint by filing an anti-SLAPP 

motion pursuant to California's anti-SLAPP statute. In response to the anti-SLAPP 

motion, the trial court issued an order granting the motion in part and denying it in part. 

Specifically, the court determined that all of the counts alleged against the Project CBD 

defendants arose from protected activities under the anti-SLAPP statute. The court 

therefore proceeded to consider whether the plaintiffs had demonstrated a probability of 

prevailing on their claims against the Project CBD defendants. The trial court determined 

that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated a probability of prevailing on counts 2, 4 and 5 of 

 

4 The record on appeal does not include the original complaint.

5 We provide the full text of these paragraphs later in this opinion.
8

the first amended complaint, but had demonstrated a probability of prevailing on counts 1 

and 3.

In determining that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a probability of prevailing on 

counts 1 and 3, the trial court concluded that the "numerous purportedly false statements 

within the article, coupled with a failure to correctly cite information from sources is 

sufficient evidence of fault." In response to the Project CBD defendants' argument that 

the plaintiffs should be considered limited public figures and therefore, should be 

required to prove actual malice on the part of the Project CBD defendants, the trial court 

concluded that the plaintiffs could not be considered public figures, and that they thus 

would not have to prove malice. The court also determined, however, that even if the 

plaintiffs would have been required to establish malice, the evidence they presented in 

response to the anti-SLAPP motion was sufficient to support a finding that the Project 

CBD defendants "engaged in 'unreasonable conduct constituting an extreme departure 

from the standards of investigation and reporting ordinarily adhered to by responsible 

publishers.' " Such a finding, the court concluded, would be sufficient to raise a triable 

issue of fact with respect to the "actual malice" standard.

In granting the Project CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion in part and denying it 

in part, the trial court struck counts 2, 4, and 5 insofar as those counts were asserted 

against the Project CBD defendants, but left counts 1 and 3 intact.
9

The Project CBD defendants filed a timely notice of appeal.6

2. Relevant proceedings on appeal

After the parties completed briefing on appeal and this court began reviewing the 

record, the court identified a potential issue in the case that the parties had not addressed 

in their briefing. This court issued a letter to counsel for the parties, seeking 

supplemental briefing from the parties with respect to this issue. The letter stated in 

relevant part:

"The court requests supplemental letter briefs from the parties, as 

outlined below. The First Amended Complaint in the above-entitled 

action alleges in paragraphs 50, 51, and 52 the following:

" '50. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon 

allege, that on or about October 14, 2014, Cantu, [b]y and 

through Lee and Project CBD published an article titled "Hemp 

Oil Hustlers- A Project CBD Special Report on Medical 

Marijuana Inc., HempMeds & Kannaway," (hereinafter referred 

to as "Hemp Oil Hustlers"). This article claimed to have 

evidence that RSHO was contaminated with heavy metals and 

solvents without verifying the accuracy of the results from 

Stewart Environmental. Project CBD also alleged that multiple 

people became ill after using RSHO due to heavy metals and 

other toxins based on Cranford's opinion. Lee wrote a forward 

for Cantu's article, asserting opinions and rumors as fact without 

proof or citation, and published Cantu's article on his Project 

CBD website. [See Exhibit M].

" '51. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon 

allege, that the Hemp Oil Hustlers article from October 14, 2014, 

has been republished on at least seventy-eight other websites. 

[See Exhibit L].

 

6 The plaintiffs have not appealed that portion of the trial court's order granting the 

Project CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion with respect to counts 2, 4, and 5.
10

" '52. Despite knowledge that the preliminary results were 

inaccurate, CannLabs, Rifle Mountain, LLC, Murry, Cranford, 

Project CBD, Cantu, Lee, and/or DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, 

and/or each of them, jointly or separately continued to publish 

these results.' (Italics added.)

"In the portion of the First Amended Complaint alleging the cause of 

action for libel, which the trial court did not strike in response to 

Project CBD, Aaron M. Cantu, and Martin Lee's (the Project CBD 

defendants) anti-SLAPP motion, the sole allegation identifying the 

false statement or statements to support the cause of action provides:

" '59. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon 

allege, that between May 1, 2014 and June 1, 2014, CannLabs, 

Rifle Mountain, LLC, Murry, Cranford, Project CBD, Cantu, 

Lee, and/or DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, and/or each of them, 

jointly or separately, published negative statements of fact about 

Plaintiffs on Facebook, which contained untrue and false 

statements regarding Plaintiff's product, RSHO.' (Italics added.)

"In the portion of the First Amended Complaint alleging the cause of 

action for false light, which the trial court also did not strike in 

response to the Project CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion, the 

sole allegation identifying the false statement or statements to 

support the cause of action provides:

" '90. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon 

allege, that on or about May 19, 2014, CannLabs, Rifle 

Mountain, LLC, Murry, Cranford, Project CBD, Cantu, Lee, 

and/or DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, and/or each of them, 

jointly or separately, without Plaintiffs' consent, put Plaintiffs in 

a false light by writing, publishing, and circulating negative 

statements about Plaintiffs on Facebook, which contained untrue 

statements of fact regarding Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' product, 

RSHO.' (Italics added.)

"These are the only false statements alleged to have been published 

by the Project CBD defendants in these two causes of action.

"Based on these allegations, it appears that no specific conduct 

attributed to the Project CBD defendants has been alleged as the 

basis for the causes of action for libel or false light against the 

Project CBD defendants. In particular, the conduct from which 
11

these causes of action are alleged to arise is limited to statements 

made between May 1, 2014 and June 1, 2014, and statements made 

on Facebook. The only statements identified in reference to the 

Project CBD defendants in the First Amended Complaint, however, 

are alleged to have been published in October 2014, and are not 

alleged to have been published on Facebook. (See Exhibit L to the 

First Amended Complaint.)

"The court therefore requests that the parties respond to the 

following questions:

"1) Is the First Amended Complaint deficient with respect to 

alleging the existence of any conduct on the part of the Project CBD 

defendants to support the causes of action for libel and false light?

"2) Assuming that the First Amended Complaint fails to state a 

legally sufficient cause of action against the Project CBD defendants 

for libel or false light because the First Amended Complaint fails to 

identify any conduct on the part of these defendants in setting forth 

these causes of action, comment on the following potential 

dispositions of this appeal, and/or provide an alternative proposed 

disposition:

"(a) This court affirms the trial court's denial of the Project CBD 

defendants' anti-SLAPP motion with respect to the libel and false 

light causes of action on the ground that the causes of action do 

not arise from the defendants' alleged 'protected activity' because 

no activity on the part of these defendants has been alleged as to 

the libel and false light causes of action (see Jarrow Formulas, 

Inc. v. LaMarche (2003) 31 Cal.4th 728, 733 [in considering an 

anti-SLAPP motion, the court first decides 'whether the 

defendant has made a threshold showing that the challenged 

cause of action is one arising from protected activity']), without 

prejudice to the Project CBD defendants filing a demurrer or 

other challenge to the legal sufficiency of the claims against them 

on remand; or

"(b) This court reverses the trial court's denial of the Project 

CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion with respect to the libel 

and false light causes of action on the ground that the plaintiffs 

cannot demonstrate a probability of prevailing on these causes of 

action against the Project CBD defendants because they cannot 

demonstrate that the complaint is legally sufficient with respect 
12

to these claims (see Briggs v. Eden Council for Hope & 

Opportunity (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1106, 1122-1123 [in second step 

of anti-SLAPP motion analysis, court must determine whether 

the plaintiff has demonstrated a probability of prevailing on the 

merits by assessing whether the plaintiff has stated and 

substantiated a legally sufficient claim])." (Footnote omitted.)

The parties submitted timely supplemental briefs in which they took opposing 

positions with respect to both of the court's questions.

III.

DISCUSSION

The Project CBD defendants assert that the trial court erred in failing to strike the 

plaintiffs' causes of action for libel and false light as pleaded in counts 1 and 3 of the first 

amended complaint. According to the Project CBD defendants, the court correctly 

determined that the claims for libel and false light against them arose from protected 

conduct under the anti-SLAPP statute, but incorrectly determined that the plaintiffs had 

demonstrated a probability of prevailing on these claims against the Project CBD 

defendants. The Project CBD defendants also assert that the trial court erred in 

concluding that the plaintiffs are not limited public figures, meaning that the plaintiffs 

would not have to demonstrate that the Project CBD defendants acted with actual malice 

in publishing the Article, and/or that the court erred in concluding in the alternative that 

the plaintiffs had demonstrated that the Project CBD defendants acted with actual malice.

After reviewing the record, we conclude that the trial court properly declined to 

strike the plaintiffs' claims for libel and false light against the Project CBD defendants, 

but on grounds different from the grounds on which the trial court based its order. As we 
13

explain, the Project CBD defendants cannot meet their burden to identify any protected 

activity that forms the basis of the libel and false light claims against them, because the 

complaint does not allege any activity on the part of the Project CBD defendants to 

support the libel and false light claims. Thus, the anti-SLAPP statute's protections have 

not been triggered with respect to the libel and false light claims ostensibly asserted

against the Project CBD defendants.

A. The anti-SLAPP statute and applicable legal standards

A SLAPP suit is "a meritless lawsuit 'filed primarily to chill the defendant's 

exercise of First Amendment rights.' " (Paul v. Friedman (2002) 95 Cal.App.4th 853, 

861, quoting Wilcox v. Superior Court (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 809, 815, fn. 2.) 

California's anti-SLAPP statute allows a defendant to move to dismiss "certain 

unmeritorious claims that are brought to thwart constitutionally protected speech or 

petitioning activity." (Robinzine v. Vicory (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 1416, 1420-1421.) 

The anti-SLAPP statute provides: "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 

shall be subject to a special motion to strike, unless the court determines that the plaintiff 

has established that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim."

(Code Civ. Proc.,7 § 425.16, subd. (b)(1).)

 

7 Further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure unless otherwise 

indicated.
14

A court's consideration of an anti-SLAPP motion involves a two-pronged analysis. 

(Episcopal Church Cases (2009) 45 Cal.4th 467, 477.) Recently, the Supreme Court has 

expounded on the standards to be applied in this two-pronged analysis:

"At the first step, the moving defendant bears the burden of

identifying all allegations of protected activity, and the claims for 

relief supported by them. . . . If the court determines that relief is 

sought based on allegations arising from activity protected by the 

statute, the second step is reached. There, 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. Allegations of protected activity supporting the stricken 

claim are eliminated from the complaint, unless they also support a

distinct claim on which the plaintiff has shown a probability of 

prevailing." (Baral v. Schnitt (2016) 1 Cal.5th 376, 396 (Baral).)

To make a showing under the first prong, the defendant need not show that the 

actions it is alleged to have taken were protected as a matter of law, but need only 

establish a prima facie case that its alleged actions fell into one of the categories listed in 

section 425.16, subdivision (e).8 (See Flatley v. Mauro (2006) 39 Cal.4th 299, 314.) 

"[T]he statutory phrase 'cause of action . . . arising from' means simply that the 

 

8 The statute defines " 'act[s] in furtherance of a person's right of petition or free 

speech' " as including: "(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." (§ 425.16, subd. (e).)
15

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." (City of Cotati v. Cashman (2002) 29 

Cal.4th 69, 78; see also Kolar v. Donahue, McIntosh & Hammerton (2006) 145 

Cal.App.4th 1532, 1537 [a cause of action arises from an act if that act forms the basis for 

the cause of action].) A cause of action may be triggered by a protected act but not arise 

from that act. (Ibid.) Thus, the "anti-SLAPP statute's definitional focus is not the form of 

the plaintiff's cause of action but, rather, the defendant's activity that gives rise to his or 

her asserted liability—and whether that activity constitutes protected speech or 

petitioning." (Navellier v. Sletten (2002) 29 Cal.4th 82, 92 (Navellier I).)

Only if the court finds that the defendant has made the required showing, does the 

burden shift to the plaintiff to demonstrate that "there is a probability that the plaintiff 

will prevail on the claim." (§ 425.16, subd. (b)(1); DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. v. 

Superior Court (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 562, 567-568.) "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, supra, 29 Cal.4th at p. 89.)

"Review of an order granting or denying a motion to strike under section 425.16 is 

de novo." (Soukup v. Law Offices of Herbert Hafif (2006) 39 Cal.4th 260, 269, fn. 3.) 

This court considers " 'the pleadings, and supporting and opposing affidavits . . . upon 

which the liability or defense is based.' " (Ibid., italics added, citing § 425.16, subd. 

(b)(2).) The court does not weigh or compare the evidence, but rather accepts as true the 
16

evidence favorable to the plaintiff while evaluating the defendant's evidence " 'only to 

determine if it has defeated that submitted by the plaintiff as a matter of law.' " (Ibid.)

B. Legal standards regarding the two counts at issue on appeal9

Count 1 asserts a cause of action for libel as to all of the named defendants. 

" ' "Defamation is an invasion of the interest in reputation. The tort involves the 

intentional publication of a statement of fact which is false, unprivileged, and has a 

natural tendency to injure or which causes special damage." [Citation.]' . . . Defamatory 

publications that are made 'by writing, printing, picture, effigy, or other fixed 

representation to the eye,' are considered libel. (Civ. Code, § 45.)" (Burrill v. Nair

(2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 357, 382, disapproved on other grounds in Baral, supra, 1 

Cal.5th at p. 391.) The tort of defamation " 'involves (a) a publication that is (b) false, 

(c) defamatory, and (d) unprivileged, and that (e) has a natural tendency to injure or that 

causes special damage.' " (Taus v. Loftus (2007) 40 Cal.4th 683, 720.) " 'The sine qua 

non of recovery for defamation . . . is the existence of a falsehood.' " (Baker v. Los 

Angeles Herald Examiner (1986) 42 Cal.3d 254, 259.) " 'The general rule is that the 

 

9 As we have explained, only the Project CBD defendants appealed the trial court's 

ruling on the anti-SLAPP motion, even though the trial court issued a split-outcome 

ruling—i.e., the court denied the motion with respect to counts 1 and 3, but granted the 

motion with respect to counts 2, 4 and 5. Because the plaintiffs did not appeal the portion 

of the court's ruling granting the anti-SLAPP motion, we are reviewing only that portion 

of the court's order denying the Project CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion—i.e., that 

portion of the court's order declining to strike counts 1 and 3 as pled in the plaintiffs' first 

amended complaint. Therefore, we consider the legal standards for the claims asserted in 

counts 1 and 3 of the first amended complaint.
17

words constituting an alleged libel must be specifically identified, if not pleaded 

verbatim, in the complaint.' " (Vogel v. Felice (2005) 127 Cal.App.4th 1006, 1017, fn. 3.)

Count 3 asserts a cause of action for false light as to all of the named defendants. 

"A 'false light' claim, like libel, exposes a person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy 

and assumes the audience will recognize it as such." (M. G. v. Time Warner, Inc. (2001) 

89 Cal.App.4th 623, 636.) "A 'false light' cause of action is in substance equivalent to a 

libel claim, and should meet the same requirements of the libel claim, including proof of 

malice [where malice is required for the libel claim]." (Aisenson v. American 

Broadcasting Co. (1990) 220 Cal.App.3d 146, 161.)

C. Analysis

The trial court determined that the Project CBD defendants had met their burden 

on the first prong of the anti-SLAPP analysis—i.e., the court concluded that they had 

demonstrated that the plaintiffs' claims for relief against the Project CBD defendants 

were based on allegations arising from activities engaged in by the Project CBD 

defendants that are protected by the statute, specifically, the Project CBD defendants'

publication of the Hemp Oil Hustlers Article. The trial court proceeded to the second 

step of the anti-SLAPP analysis and determined, with respect to counts 1 and 3, that the 

plaintiffs had demonstrated a probability of prevailing on these claims. The court 

therefore denied the Project CBD defendant's anti-SLAPP motion with respect to counts 

1 and 3.

Our independent review of the record, however, reveals that the plaintiffs' asserted 

claims for relief against the Project CBD defendants in counts 1 and 3 are not based on 
18

any conduct alleged to have been undertaken by the Project CBD defendants. The sole 

allegations referring to the Project CBD defendants in the first amended complaint are the 

factual allegations found in paragraphs 50, 51, and 52 of the general allegations. Those 

paragraphs state the following:

"50. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon allege, 

that on or about October 14, 2014, Cantu, [b]y and through Lee and 

Project CBD published an article titled 'Hemp Oil Hustlers- A 

Project CBD Special Report on Medical Marijuana Inc., HempMeds 

& Kannaway,' (hereinafter referred to as 'Hemp Oil Hustlers'). This 

article claimed to have evidence that RSHO was contaminated with 

heavy metals and solvents without verifying the accuracy of the 

results from Stewart Environmental. Project CBD also alleged that 

multiple people became ill after using RSHO due to heavy metals 

and other toxins based on Cranford's opinion. Lee wrote a forward 

for Cantu's article, asserting opinions and rumors as fact without 

proof or citation, and published Cantu's article on his Project CBD 

website. [See Exhibit M].

"51. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon allege, 

that the Hemp Oil Hustlers article from October 14, 2014, has been 

republished on at least seventy-eight other websites. [See Exhibit L].

"52. Despite knowledge that the preliminary results were inaccurate, 

CannLabs, Rifle Mountain, LLC, Murry, Cranford, Project CBD, 

Cantu, Lee, and/or DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, and/or each of 

them, jointly or separately continued to publish these results."10 

(Brackets in original, italics added.)

The factual allegations in paragraphs 50, 51, and 52 are incorporated into each 

separate count asserted in the first amended complaint, including counts 1 and 3.11 We 

 

10 Exhibit M to the first amended complaint includes the full text of the Article. 

Exhibit L is a list of websites.

11 Both counts 1 and 3 include the following language: "Plaintiffs re-allege and 

incorporate by reference the allegations contained in [the preceding paragraphs] above as 

though fully set forth herein."
19

therefore proceed with the understanding that the first amended complaint may be read as 

if the text of paragraphs 50, 51, and 52 were included, verbatim, within the paragraphs 

setting forth the counts identified in the first amended complaint as "FIRST CAUSE OF 

ACTION [¶] (For Libel as to Defendants CannLabs, Rifle Mountain, LLC, Murray, 

Cranford, Project CBD, Cantu, and Lee)" and "THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION [¶] (For 

False Light as to Defendants CannLabs, Rifle Mountain, LLC, Murray, Cranford Project 

CBD, Cantu, Lee)." (Boldface omitted.)

Nevertheless, in the portion of the first amended complaint setting forth count 1, 

the cause of action for libel, the sole allegation identifying the false statement or 

statements on which the plaintiffs' claim for libel is based is found in paragraph 59, 

which provides:

"59. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon allege, 

that between May 1, 2014 and June 1, 2014, CannLabs, Rifle 

Mountain, LLC, Murry, Cranford, Project CBD, Cantu, Lee, and/or 

DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, and/or each of them, jointly or 

separately, published negative statements of fact about Plaintiffs on 

Facebook, which contained untrue and false statements regarding 

Plaintiff's product, RSHO." (Italics added.)

Similarly, in the portion of the first amended complaint asserting a claim for false 

light, the sole allegation identifying the false statement or statements on which the 

plaintiffs' claim for false light is based is found in paragraph 90, which provides:

"90. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon allege, 

that on or about May 19, 2014, CannLabs, Rifle Mountain, LLC, 

Murry, Cranford, Project CBD, Cantu, Lee, and/or DOES 1 through 

20, inclusive, and/or each of them, jointly or separately, without 

Plaintiffs' consent, put Plaintiffs in a false light by writing, 

publishing, and circulating negative statements about Plaintiffs on 
20

Facebook, which contained untrue statements of fact regarding 

Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' product, RSHO." (Italics added.)

These are the only portions of the first amended complaint in which the plaintiffs 

identify the specific acts (i.e., the purported false statements published by the defendants) 

underlying the libel and false lights counts/causes of action at issue.12 Thus, for the libel 

claim, the alleged activities on the part of any of the named defendants that give rise to 

the plaintiffs' claims of liability, according to the first amended complaint, is the 

"publi[cation of] negative statements of fact about Plaintiffs on Facebook ['between May 

1, 2014 and June 1, 2014'], which contained untrue and false statements regarding 

Plaintiff's product, RSHO." (Italics added.) For the false light claim, alleged activities 

on the part of any of the named defendants that give rise to the plaintiffs' claims of 

liability, according to the first amended complaint, is the "writing, publishing, and 

circulating [of] negative statements about Plaintiffs on Facebook ['on or about May 19, 

2014'], which contained untrue statements of fact regarding Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs'

product, RSHO." (Italics added.) However, the first amended complaint specifically 

alleges that the only time that the Project CBD defendants engaged in any activity related 

to the plaintiffs was on October 14, 2014, and the plaintiffs do not allege that the Project 

 

12 In supplemental briefing, the plaintiffs contend that although "[p]aragraphs 59 and 

90 again reference certain facts from the incorporated 'Facts Common to All Claims,'

there is no indication that the allegations against the Project CBD Defendants were 

limited to only Facebook posts or to a certain time frame." We disagree. The references 

to false statements made in the paragraphs following paragraphs 59 and 90 are clearly 

references to the "statements" identified in paragraphs 59 and 90.
21

CBD defendants published the Hemp Oil Hustler Article on Facebook, but, rather, 

elsewhere.

Thus, the operative pleading, as it stands, does not allege any conduct on the part 

of the Project CBD defendants that supports the plaintiffs' claims for relief for libel or 

false light. The Project CBD defendants concede that this is so in their supplemental 

briefing: "Plaintiffs fail to connect Project CBD's purportedly defamatory statements in 

the October 2014 Report to their specific causes of action for libel and false light. . . . 

The Project CBD Defendants clearly have no connection to allegedly defamatory 

Facebook posts published several months before Project CBD's Report was even 

authored, and Plaintiffs' have not argued otherwise." More importantly, the plaintiffs 

have not alleged otherwise. Rather, all of the conduct identified in the first amended 

complaint to support the claims for libel and false light is conduct alleged to have been 

engaged in by other defendants, not the Project CBD defendants.13

 

13 In contrast to the allegations made to support the claims asserted in counts 1 and 3, 

which reference solely actions by defendants other than the Project CBD defendants, the 

claim for trade libel asserted in count 2, for example, includes the following allegations 

that can be read to allege specific conduct on the part of the Project CBD defendants: 

"Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon allege, that [all of the defendants], 

inclusive, and/or each of them, jointly or separately, intentionally, wrongfully, without 

justification, and without privilege made statements that Plaintiffs' product (RSHO) was 

dangerous to consume, contained heavy metals, fluorides, chlorides, bromine, and bleach 

at high concentration[s], that it was not even hemp oil, that it caused the death of a child 

[known as 'Jaqi Angel' on Facebook]" and "Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based 

thereon allege, that Murray's Post and/or DOES 1 through 20's statements were quoted 

and publicized in a paper by Project CBD, an online information website calling for the 

legalization of medical marijuana, and Aaron Miguel Cantu, an employee of Project 

CBD. The 'Hemp Oil Hustlers' article has been reprinted and updated as of November 4, 

2014." (Brackets in original.) Thus, it is clear that the plaintiffs knew how to reference 
22

Given that the first amended complaint does not allege any conduct on the part of 

the Project CBD defendants giving rise to the claims for liability in the libel and false 

light counts, there is no activity on the part of the Project CBD defendants, let alone 

activity that amounts to "protected speech or petitioning" (Navellier I, supra, 29 Cal.4th 

at p. 92), that could give rise to the Project CBD's claimed liability for libel or false light 

as alleged in the first amended complaint. As a result, defendants simply cannot identify 

any allegations of protected activity that support the libel and false light claims for relief, 

as is their burden under the first prong of the anti-SLAPP analysis. (See Baral, supra, 1 

Cal.5th at p. 396 ["the moving defendant bears the burden of identifying all allegations of 

protected activity, and the claims for relief supported by them" (italics added)].) Because 

the relief sought in the libel and false light counts is not based on allegations arising from 

any activity attributed to the Project CBD defendants, no protected activity on their part 

supports these claims, and we therefore do not reach the second step of the anti-SLAPP 

analysis. (See ibid. [only "[i]f the court determines that relief is sought based on 

allegations arising from activity protected by the statute" is the "second step . . .

reached"].)14

 

and rely on the specific factual allegations of the Project CBD defendants' activities to 

support a particular claim for relief. As we have explained, they made no similar 

allegations regarding the conduct of the Project CBD defendants, with respect to the two 

pleaded causes of action at issue on appeal.

14 This case presents a unique circumstance in which the failure of the plaintiff to 

state a legally sufficient claim against the defendant requires a determination at the first

step of the anti-SLAPP motion analysis, where the defendant bears the burden of 

identifying "all allegations of protected activity, and the claims for relief supported by 

them." (Baral, supra, 1 Cal.5th at p. 396.) This is because the insufficiency of the claims 
23

It would be inappropriate for us to insert into a pleading claims for relief based on 

allegations of activities that the plaintiffs simply have not identified, even if the parties 

suggest on appeal how the plaintiffs might have intended to frame those claims and/or 

attempt to identify the specific conduct or assertions of statements alleged to be false on 

which the plaintiffs intended to base such claims for relief.15 It is not our role to engage 

in what would amount to a redrafting of the first amended complaint in order to read that 

document as alleging conduct that supports a claim that has not in fact been specifically 

alleged, and then assess whether the pleading that we have essentially drafted could 

survive the anti-SLAPP motion directed at it. The anti-SLAPP statute operates in a very 

specific way, permitting a court to strike from a complaint only "[a] cause of action 

against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person's right of 

 

against the Project CBD defendants arises as a result of the complete failure of the first 

amended complaint to allege any conduct on the part of this particular set of defendants 

to support the plaintiffs' claims for relief in the counts at issue. As a result, the 

defendants cannot identify protected activity on their part supporting the claim that would 

trigger the anti-SLAPP statute's protection. We can imagine, however, that in a more 

typical scenario, the plaintiff will have identified specific conduct on the part of the 

defendant at issue, and that the identified conduct may be determined to be either 

"protected activity" or "unprotected activity" for purposes of the anti-SLAPP analysis, 

thereby triggering application of the second prong analysis. In such an instance, is it also 

possible that the conduct identified and determined to be "protected activity" does not 

establish a sufficient claim for relief as a matter of law. In such a circumstance, the 

appropriate disposition would be a determination that the plaintiff has not met his or her 

burden to demonstrate a probability of success on the merits of the claim, and the antiSLAPP motion would be properly granted as to that claim. (See Vogel v. Felice, supra, 

127 Cal.App.4th at pp.1018-1019 [if the pleadings are not adequate to support a cause of 

action, the plaintiff has failed to carry the plaintiff's burden in opposing an anti-SLAPP

motion].)

15 Our decision not to attempt to reimagine the operative complaint is particularly 

appropriate given the fact that the parties disagree as to what the plaintiffs intended to, 

and did in fact, allege in that pleading.
24

petition or free speech under the United States Constitution or the California Constitution 

in connection with a public issue" when the plaintiff cannot establish a probability of 

prevailing on the claim. (§ 425.16, subd. (b)(1).) The anti-SLAPP statute's stark 

remedies come into play to bring an end solely to "meritless" claims filed primarily to

chill the defendant's exercise of his or her First Amendment rights (see Paul v. Friedman, 

supra, 95 Cal.App.4th at p. 861). Where, as here, the operative complaint alleges no act 

on the part of the moving defendants in support of the claim or claims for relief that those 

defendants seek to strike from that complaint, the defendants are not entitled to strike 

those claims for relief pursuant to the anti-SLAPP statute, although they may have other 

remedies available to them to address deficiencies in the pleading.

We conclude that the appropriate course of action is to affirm the denial of the 

anti-SLAPP motion with respect to counts 1 and 3, given that no protected or 

unprotected activity on the part of the Project CBD defendants has been alleged to 

support the claims for relief asserted in these counts, and to allow the parties, themselves, 

to correct the course of this litigation in the trial court if they determine that such a course 

correction is necessary.16

 

16 Specifically, this opinion is not intended to preclude the Project CBD defendants 

from demurring to the remaining counts of the first amended complaint on the ground 

that it fails to state a claim against them based on the insufficiencies in the libel and false 

light counts identified here.
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IV.

DISPOSITION

The trial court's order denying the Project CBD defendants' anti-SLAPP motion 

with respect to counts 1 (libel) and 3 (false light) is affirmed. The matter is remanded to 

the trial court for further proceedings.

AARON, J.

WE CONCUR:

BENKE, Acting P. J.

PRAGER, J.*

 

* Judge of the San Diego Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to 

article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.