Filed 10/23/20

CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

RGC GASLAMP, LLC,

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

EHMCKE SHEET METAL CO., INC.,

Defendant and Appellant.

 D075615

 (Super. Ct. No. 37-2018-00036303-

 CU-OR-CTL)

RGC GASLAMP, LLC,

Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

EHMCKE SHEET METAL CO., INC.,

Defendant and Respondent.

 D076594

 

APPEALS from orders of the Superior Court of San Diego County, 

Gregory W. Pollack, Judge. Affirmed.

CGS3, Gregory S. Markow, Sean Michael Gaffney and Jamie Altman 

Buggy for Plaintiff and Appellant in Nos. D07615 and D076594.

Solomon Ward Seidenwurm & Smith, Thomas Landers and Leah 

Suzanne Strickland for Defendant and Appellant and for Defendant and

Respondent.
2

Subcontractor Ehmcke Sheet Metal Company (Ehmcke) recorded a

mechanic’s lien to recoup payment due for sheet metal fabrication and 

installation work done on a luxury hotel project in downtown San Diego. 

Project owner RGC Gaslamp, LLC (RGC) secured a bond to release the lien. 

Thereafter Ehmcke filed three successive mechanic’s liens, each identical to 

the first, prompting RGC to sue it for quiet title, slander of title, and 

declaratory and injunctive relief. The trial court granted Ehmke’s special 

motion to strike under the anti-SLAPP statute. (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16.)

RGC appeals that ruling and the subsequent ruling on attorney’s fees.1

The trial court found that Ehmcke met its moving burden because the 

filing of even an invalid lien is protected petitioning activity. Thereafter, the 

court found that RGC failed to make a prima facie showing that its sole 

remaining cause of action for slander of title could withstand application of 

the litigation privilege. RGC appeals both findings, arguing that the 

duplicative filing of mechanic’s liens after the posting of a bond is not 

protected activity. Relying heavily on A.F. Brown Electrical Contractor, Inc. 

v. Rhino Electric Supply, Inc. (2006) 137 Cal.App.4th 1118 (A.F. Brown), RGC

claims Ehmcke could not have filed duplicative liens in good faith while

seriously contemplating litigation.

As we explain, RGC erroneously imports substantive requirements of 

the litigation privilege into the first step of the anti-SLAPP inquiry. At prong 

one of the anti-SLAPP inquiry, a defendant need only show a prima facie case 

that the activity underlying plaintiff’s action is protected, not that its acts 

1 The parties stipulated to consolidate the appeals from the order 

granting the anti-SLAPP motion (D075615) and the subsequent order on fees 

and costs (D076594). We rejected the stipulation at that time but on our own 

motion now consolidate the appeals for purposes of decision. (See Hong Sang 

Market, Inc. v. Peng (2018) 20 Cal.App.5th 474, 481, fn. 1.)
3

were ultimately lawful. Moreover, even if the good faith and serious 

contemplation criteria in A.F. Brown applied here, Ehmcke met that moving 

burden once its erroneously excluded reply declarations are considered. With 

the burden shifted on prong two, RGC failed to make a prima facie showing 

that the litigation privilege did not bar its slander-of-title cause of action. 

The anti-SLAPP motion was thus properly granted, and we likewise affirm 

the subsequent attorney’s fees and costs award.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2

RGC is the developer and owner of the Pendry Hotel in downtown San 

Diego. Ehmcke performed sheet metal installation and fabrication for the 

project and alleged it was not paid after completing its subcontracting work 

in April 2017. In September 2017, Ehmcke filed and recorded a mechanic’s 

lien (first lien) for $257,978 against the property. The following month, RGC

secured and recorded a bond from Liberty Mutual for $322,473 to release the 

first lien. In December, Ehmcke filed a second mechanic’s lien identical to 

the first lien. 

A few months passed. On April 10, 2018, Ehmcke filed and recorded a 

series of documents in which it withdrew the first and second liens and filed a 

2 We grant the parties’ joint request to augment the record with RGC’s 

notice designating the record on appeal, Ehmcke’s notice of cross-appeal, and 

Ehmcke’s notice designating the record on appeal. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 

8.155(a)(1)(A) [permitting augmentation with “[a]ny document filed or lodged 

in the case in superior court”]; further rule references are to the California 

Rules of Court.) Although RGC’s designation of the record on appeal is 

missing a file stamp, we take judicial notice of the fact that it was filed from 

the notation in the Register of Actions. We take judicial notice of that 

Register of Actions itself pursuant to sections 452, subdivision (d) and 459, 

subdivision (a) of the Evidence Code. Although that document is properly 

included in a prepared appendix (rules 8.124(b)(1)(A), 8.122(b)(1)(F)), it was 

neither filed nor lodged in superior court to permit augmentation (rule 

8.155(a)(1)(A)).
4

third identical mechanic’s lien for the same work.3 RGC once again obtained 

a bond from Liberty Mutual to release the third lien, recording the 

instrument in June. Then on July 5, 2018, Ehmcke withdrew the third lien 

and filed a fourth lien on the project that was duplicative of the first, second, 

and third liens. 

RGC initiated this action on July 19, filing a verified complaint for 

quiet title, slander of title, and declaratory and injunctive relief. Attached as 

exhibits were copies of the four recorded mechanic’s liens, withdrawals of the 

first, second, and third liens, and surety bonds for the first and third liens. 

Ehmcke responded by filing a special motion to strike pursuant to the antiSLAPP statute, Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, subdivision (b), 

contending the claims all arose from protected petitioning activity. It further 

argued that the quiet title and declaratory relief claims were mooted by its 

release of all four liens, while the remaining slander of title claim was barred 

by the litigation privilege. 

Attached to its anti-SLAPP motion was a declaration by Ehmcke Vice 

President, Billy Taylor. Taylor stated that Ehmcke had not been paid for 

sheet metal installation and fabrication work at the Pendry Hotel. 

Subsequently, it recorded four mechanic’s liens, all since released. RGC’s 

lawsuit challenged the fourth lien, recorded on July 5, 2018. According to 

Taylor, “Before Ehmcke retained Solomon Ward as counsel it was not 

properly advised of the legal and statutory scheme regulating mechanic’s lien 

law in California.” But after retaining the firm, Ehmcke promptly released 

the fourth mechanic’s lien. As of August 28, 2018, there had been no 

3 RGC averred that Ehmcke’s release of the first lien “was without legal 

effect,” as it had already been released upon recording of the release bond. 
5

mechanic’s liens recorded against the property, and Taylor asserted that 

“Ehmcke does not intend to record any additional mechanic’s liens.” 

RGC opposed the anti-SLAPP motion, arguing that the filing of 

duplicative mechanic’s liens was neither protected petitioning activity nor

covered by the litigation privilege. As it does on appeal, RGC relied primarily

on A.F. Brown, supra, 137 Cal.App.4th 1118, asserting that although the first 

lien was likely privileged, subsequent identical liens were not. RGC claimed 

that Ehmcke could not and did not file the second, third, and fourth 

mechanic’s liens in good faith or while a lawsuit was under serious 

consideration. Describing the statutory scheme as protecting both 

contractors and owners, RGC maintained that the reasons for treating a first 

mechanic’s lien as privileged did not extend to subsequent duplicative liens. 

Because the mechanic’s lien laws (Civ. Code, § 8200 et seq.) make no 

provision for repeat liens after an owner posts a release bond, RGC suggested 

that permitting such duplicative liens would render statutory bond 

protections afforded to owners under Civil Code section 8424 illusory.4

In conjunction with its opposition, RGC submitted a declaration by 

attorney Gregory Markow authenticating the various recorded documents 

attached as exhibits to the complaint. Markow also authenticated a demand 

letter sent to Ehmcke’s president on July 16, 2018. In it, Markow told 

Ehmcke that the fourth lien was untimely filed (§ 8414) and therefore

invalid. Warning that Ehmcke’s failure to release the lien might damage 

RGC in excess of $2 million, the demand letter stated that RGC would pursue 

its legal remedies if Ehmcke did not release the lien by July 20. 

4 Further statutory references are to the Civil Code unless otherwise 

specified.
6

Ehmcke responded that RGC had conflated the two prongs of the antiSLAPP inquiry by using the litigation privilege to define the scope of 

protected activity. According to Ehmcke, anti-SLAPP protection was not 

negated by its filing of a statutorily invalid mechanic’s lien. Nor could RGC

show its claims had minimal merit when the recording of even an invalid

mechanic’s lien was covered by the litigation privilege. Ehmcke contested 

RGC’s assertion that it had acted in bad faith, submitting three new 

declarations with its reply.5 

Both parties filed evidentiary objections. RGC objected to the reply 

evidence in its entirety. The court struck all three reply declarations, citing 

the general rule that new evidence may not be submitted by an anti-SLAPP 

movant on reply. (See Jay v. Mahaffey (2013) 218 Cal.App.4th 1522, 1537 

(Jay).)

At the hearing, the trial court gave its tentative ruling. Ehmcke had to 

show that RGC’s action arose from its protected activity, and the filing of a 

mechanic’s lien met that burden. The burden then shifted to RGC to 

establish a probability of prevailing on the merits. RGC could not do so 

because although what Ehmcke did was wrong, the filing of the fourth 

mechanic’s lien remained protected by the litigation privilege (§ 47, subd. (b)). 

Following lengthy argument by both sides, the court confirmed its tentative, 

while expressing discomfort with the possibility that an owner like RGC

would have no judicial remedy when faced with duplicative liens. As the 

court explained in its minute order, “The recording of a mechanic’s lien 

satisfies Ehmcke’s prong I ‘arising out of’ anti-SLAPP burden and is an act 

absolutely privileged pursuant to Civil Code § 47(b), thereby also precluding 

5 To avoid repetition, the reply declarations are described in the 

discussion.
7

RGC from satisfying its prong II ‘likelihood of success on the merits’ burden.” 

Although the fourth lien may have been untimely, improper, or statutorily 

unauthorized, the litigation privilege “is absolute and applies irrespective of 

Ehmcke’s evil motives or the total lack of merit of the recorded lien.” 

Having prevailed on its anti-SLAPP motion, Ehmcke sought an award 

of attorney’s fees and costs. (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, subd. (c).) The court 

granted the request, awarding Ehmcke $30,000 in attorney’s fees and $1,062

in costs.

DISCUSSION

RGC challenges the anti-SLAPP ruling, arguing the filing of repetitive 

mechanic’s liens is protected by neither the anti-SLAPP statute nor the 

litigation privilege. To the extent we are inclined to reverse the trial court’s 

anti-SLAPP ruling, Ehmcke cross-appeals the evidentiary ruling striking all 

three declarations submitted on reply. As we explain, the anti-SLAPP 

motion was properly granted. The filing of a mechanic’s lien constitutes 

protected activity, even if the lien was invalid or otherwise improper. 

Although we disagree with A.F. Brown’s suggestion that an anti-SLAPP 

moving party must establish that a mechanic’s lien must be filed in good faith 

and in serious contemplation of litigation, those requirements too are met if 

the erroneously excluded reply declarations submitted by Ehmcke are 

considered. Next, RGC fails to demonstrate a likelihood of overcoming the 

litigation privilege on the merits as to its sole remaining claim for slander of 
8

title. The anti-SLAPP motion was properly granted, as was the subsequent

request for fees and costs.6

1. Legal Principles

This case addresses the applicability of statutory anti-SLAPP 

protections to an improperly filed duplicative mechanic’s lien. To understand 

the issues in the appeals and cross-appeal, we provide some background 

concerning both statutory schemes.

a. Mechanic’s Liens

California’s constitution enshrines a right to record a mechanic’s lien: 

“Mechanics, persons furnishing materials, artisans, and laborers of every 

class, shall have a lien upon the property upon which they have bestowed 

labor or furnished material for the value of such labor done and material 

furnished; and the Legislature shall provide, by law, for the speedy and 

efficient enforcement of such liens.” (Cal. Const., art. XIV, § 3.) A mechanic’s 

lien gives a contractor, supplier, or laborer a security interest in real property 

to secure the right to payment for work performed or materials delivered. 

6 Ehmcke seeks judicial notice of its release of the fourth mechanic’s lien 

recorded on July 20, 2018 (exhibit 1), the fourth lien it recorded on July 5,

2018 (exhibit 2), and pleadings connected to separate litigation among RGC, 

the general contractor, and various subcontractors (RGC Gaslamp, LLC v. 

Davis/Reed Construction, Inc., et al. (Super. Ct. San Diego County, 2018, 

No. 37-2018-00036555-CU-BC-CTL) [Exhibits 3−5]). The request is denied. 

Exhibits 1 and 2 were presented to the trial court and are in our record, 

rendering judicial notice unnecessary. (See Davis v. Southern California 

Edison Co. (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 619, 632, fn. 11.) Exhibits 3 through 5 

were not before the trial court, and we follow the usual rule that appellate 

courts consider only matters that were part of the record at the time the trial 

court ruled. (Vons Companies, Inc. v. Seabest Foods, Inc. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 

434, 444, fn. 3.) Judicial notice of exhibits 3 through 5 is moreover 

unnecessary for our decision on the appeals and cross-appeal. (See San 

Diegans for Open Government v. City of San Diego (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 

416, 432, fn. 6.)
9

(Crosno Construction, Inc. v. Travelers Cas. & Surety Co. of Am. (2020) 47 

Cal.App.5th 940, 950 (Crosno).) Civil Code sections 8000 to 9566 set forth a 

comprehensive statutory scheme to resolve payment disputes in public and 

private construction projects. Mechanic’s liens, filed by Ehmcke here, are 

available only in private works of improvement. (See Crosno, at p. 950.) 

The statutory scheme reflects a balancing of interests between property 

owners and claimants. The primary goal of the statutes is to protect a 

laborer or material supplier who improves an owner’s property by assuring 

payment for the value of work done. (See T.O. IX, LLC v. Superior Court 

(2008) 165 Cal.App.4th 140, 146 (T.O.).) At the same time, the statutory 

scheme reflects a recognition that the recording of a mechanic’s lien 

encumbers the affected real property. Thus, in providing security and a swift 

remedy, mechanic’s lien laws protect both lien claimants and property 

owners. (Ibid.)

As a subcontractor on a private construction project, Ehmcke had a 

right to record a mechanic’s lien. (§ 8400.) As a first step, it had to send 

preliminary notice to RGC, the project owner. (§§ 8410, 8402.) If RGC 

believed Ehmcke had no right to claim a lien, it could “immediately file suit 

to enjoin [Ehmcke] from asserting [its] lien.” (Connolly Development, Inc. v. 

Superior Court (1976) 17 Cal.3d 803, 822 (Connolly).) “By the use of a 

temporary restraining order if necessary (see Code Civ. Proc., § 527), the 

plaintiff could secure a hearing before the lien was imposed.” (Connolly, 

at p. 822.) There is no indication here that RGC sought such injunctive relief.

The next step after preliminary notice is for a claimant to record a 

claim of lien. Ehmcke had to record a lien within 90 days of completing its 

work on the project, or within 30 days of RGC’s notice of completion, 
10

whichever date arose sooner. (§ 8414.)7 A copy of the recorded mechanic’s 

lien must be served on the owner. (§ 8416.) At this stage as well, after 

recordation of a lien but before foreclosure proceedings commence, the owner 

may seek declaratory or injunctive relief challenging the validity of the lien. 

(Connolly, supra, 17 Cal.3d at pp. 822−823.)8 Errors in the lien’s written 

demand generally do not invalidate the claim unless a court finds intent to 

defraud, or that the property was later purchased by an innocent third party, 

and the lien was so deficient it did not prompt further inquiry. (§ 8422.)

7 RGC alleged in its complaint that Ehmcke completed work on the 

project in April 2017. RGC recorded its notice of completion in January 2018 

and filed an amended notice of completion in early February. At the outer 

end, any mechanic’s lien had to have been filed by March 8, 2018, or 30 days 

after the amended notice of completion. Although the first and second liens 

met this cutoff, the third and fourth liens did not—a point raised by RGC in 

opposing the anti-SLAPP motion to claim “the third and fourth liens were not 

authorized by law and therefore not covered by the litigation privilege.” 

8 Writing for the majority in Connolly, Justice Tobriner explained that 

although the recording of a mechanic’s lien or a stop notice effected a taking, 

California’s statutory scheme placed adequate safeguards to comply with due 

process. (Connolly, supra, 17 Cal.3d at pp. 827−828.) It was in this context 

that Connolly indicates owners faced with an unjustified claim of lien could 

seek a mandatory injunction or declaratory relief. (Id. at pp. 822−823.) PostConnolly, an additional procedural safeguard was created in Lambert v. 

Superior Court (1991) 228 Cal.App.3d 383 (Lambert) to address the context 

after foreclosure proceedings commence. An owner may file a motion in the 

pending foreclosure action itself to remove a mechanic’s lien, asking the court 

to weigh its “probable validity.” (Id. at p. 388; see generally Cal Sierra 

Construction, Inc. v. Comerica Bank (2012) 206 Cal.App.4th 841, 849−850 

[discussing Connolly and Lambert].) Pursuant to section 8490, subdivisions 

(b) and (c), a court order or judgment releasing property from a claim of lien 

or declaring that no lien exists “is equivalent to cancellation of the claim of 

lien and its removal from the record”; the lien is released once a certified copy 

of the court order or judgment is recorded.
11

Claimants enforce their mechanic’s liens through foreclosure, and must 

commence a foreclosure suit within 90 days after recording the lien. (§ 8460, 

subd. (a).) If a claimant does not timely commence foreclosure proceedings, 

an owner may file a petition to release the property from the lien. (§ 8480, 

subd. (a).) Likewise, if foreclosure proceedings are timely commenced, an

owner who challenges the validity of the lien may file a motion to remove a 

mechanic’s lien in the pending foreclosure action itself. (Lambert, supra,

228 Cal.App.3d at pp. 386−387.)

The recording of a mechanic’s lien “may severely hamper [the owner’s] 

ability to sell or encumber that property.” (Connolly, supra, 17 Cal.3d at 

p. 812.) “If there were no provisions for releasing the lien, a claimant could 

file a questionable claim of lien and either cloud the owner's title for the 

years necessary to litigate the claim or force the owner to pay the claim even 

though it is disputed. Therefore, when any contractor or subcontractor, the 

property owner, or any other person who has an interest in the property 

disputes the correctness or validity of any claim of lien, the property may be 

released from the lien by recording a bond in the appropriate sum.” (9 Miller 

& Starr, Cal. Real Estate (4th ed. 2020) § 32:66.) “The purpose of the release 

bond procedure is to provide a means by which, before a final determination 

of the lien claimant's rights and without prejudice to those rights, the 

property may be freed of the lien, so that it may be sold, developed, or used as 

security for a loan.” (Hutnick v. U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty Co. (1988) 

47 Cal.3d 456, 462 (Hutnick).)

Pursuant to section 8424, an owner faced with a mechanic’s lien may 

record a release bond amounting to 125 percent of the lien claim. “On 

recordation of the bond, the real property is released from the claim of lien 

and from any action to enforce the lien.” (§ 8424, subd. (c).) Where a 
12

claimant records multiple liens against a property, and the aggregate sum of 

those lien claims exceed the contractor’s underlying claim, an owner only 

needs to record a single release bond to cover the underlying claim. (T.O., 

supra, 165 Cal.App.4th at p. 148 [an owner could release nine duplicative 

liens by requesting a court order requiring it to post a single release bond to 

cover paving contractor’s $79,831 claim].)

Once a release bond is recorded, it becomes the lien claimant’s sole 

recourse for collecting sums due. (9 Miller & Starr, Cal. Real Estate, supra,

§ 32:66.) “The recording of the release bond does not extinguish the lien; 

rather, the bond is substituted for the land as the object to which the lien 

attaches.” (Hutnick, supra, 47 Cal.3d at p. 463; see T.O., supra, 165 

Cal.App.4th at p. 145.) A claimant must commence an action on the bond 

within six months of receiving notice of the bond. (§ 8424, subd. (d).)

b. Anti-SLAPP Statute (Code Civ. Proc, § 425.16)

“Enacted by the Legislature in 1992, the anti-SLAPP statute is 

designed to protect defendants from meritless lawsuits that might chill the 

exercise of their rights to speak and petition on matters of public concern.” 

(Wilson v. Cable News Network, Inc. (2019) 7 Cal.5th 871, 883–884 (Wilson); 

Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, subd. (a).) To achieve this goal, the statute 

authorizes defendants to file a special motion to strike claims “arising from 

any act of that person in furtherance of the person’s right of petition or free 

speech under the United States . . . or California Constitution in connection 

with a public issue, 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., § 425.16, subd. (b)(1).) Through this summaryjudgment-like procedure, the anti-SLAPP statute aims to eliminate meritless 

or retaliatory litigation at an early stage of proceedings. (Flatley v. Mauro 

(2006) 39 Cal.4th 299, 312 (Flatley).)
13

We use a two-step process to resolve an anti-SLAPP motion. In the 

first step, the moving defendant bears the burden to establish that the 

challenged claim arises from the defendant’s protected activity. (Wilson, 

supra, 7 Cal.5th at p. 884; Baral v. Schnitt (2016) 1 Cal.5th 376, 396 (Baral).) 

If the defendant carries its threshold burden, the burden then shifts to the 

plaintiff to demonstrate that its claims have minimal merit. (Wilson, at 

p. 884.) “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.” (Baral, at p. 396.) If a plaintiff

does not make that showing, a court will strike the claim. (Ibid.; Wilson, at 

p. 884.) A defendant that prevails on an anti-SLAPP motion to strike is 

generally entitled to recover attorney’s fees and costs. (Code Civ. Proc., 

§ 425.16, subd. (c)(1).)

2. Prong One: Does RGC’s Claim Arise Out of Protected Activity?

We review de novo whether RGC’s claims arise from protected activity. 

(Wilson, supra, 7 Cal.5th at p. 884.) At this first step of the anti-SLAPP 

inquiry, Ehmcke “must make two related showings.” (Id. at p. 887.) 

“Comparing its statements and conduct against the statute, it must 

demonstrate activity qualifying for protection. (See [Code Civ. Proc.,]

§ 425.16, subd. (e).) And comparing that protected activity against the 

complaint, it must also demonstrate that the activity supplies one or more 

elements of a plaintiff’s claims.” (Wilson, at p. 887.) Here, only the first step 

is at issue—RGC does not dispute that its action arises out of the filing of the 

fourth successive mechanic’s lien after proper bonding. Instead, it disputes 

whether such activity qualifies for protection in the first instance. 

Among other types of communications, the anti-SLAPP statute protects 

“any written or oral statement or writing made before a legislative, executive, 
14

or judicial proceeding” (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, subd. (e)(1)) or “in 

connection with an issue under consideration or review” in such proceedings 

(id., subd. (e)(2)). Statements made in preparation for litigation or in 

anticipation of bringing an action fall within these categories. (Flatley, 

supra, 39 Cal.4th at p. 322, fn. 11, citing Briggs v. Eden Council for Hope and 

Opportunity (1999) 19 Cal.4th 1106, 1115 (Briggs).) If a statement falls into

one of these categories, a defendant does not separately need to show that his 

or her statement was made in connection with a “public issue.” (Briggs, at 

p. 1123.)

a. As a prerequisite to a foreclosure action, recordation of the fourth 

mechanic’s lien was protected despite its invalidity.

At the first prong, courts consider whether a defendant has made a 

prima facie showing that activity underlying a plaintiff’s causes of action is 

statutorily protected, “not whether it has shown its acts are ultimately 

lawful.” (Wilson, supra, 7 Cal.5th at pp. 887−888.) Any claimed illegitimacy 

of the defendant’s acts is an issue that must be raised and supported by the 

plaintiff in discharging its burden on prong two. (Id. at p. 888, citing 

Navellier v. Sletten (2002) 29 Cal.4th 82, 94 (Navellier).) “To conclude 

otherwise would effectively shift to the defendant a [merits] burden 

statutorily assigned to the plaintiff.” (Wilson, at p. 888; quoting Code Civ. 

Proc., § 425.16, subd. (b)(1).)

It is here that RGC’s argument falters. RGC asserts that although the 

filing of a single mechanic’s lien is protected activity, the filing of duplicative 

liens after proper bonding is not. But a defendant does not have to establish 

that its conduct was ultimately lawful or constitutionally protected at prong 

one. (Navellier, supra, 29 Cal.4th at p. 94; Wilson, supra, 7 Cal.5th at 

pp. 887−888.) RGC’s quiet title, slander of title, and declaratory relief causes

of action all challenged Ehmcke’s filing of the fourth mechanic’s lien. The 
15

filing of a mechanic’s lien is a necessary prerequisite to bringing a foreclosure 

action. (§ 8460.) As such, it is a protected prelitigation statement 

preparatory to filing a judicial proceeding. (Briggs, supra, 19 Cal.4th at 

p. 1115 [anti-SLAPP statute protects prelitigation statements “ ‘preparatory 

to or in anticipation of the bringing of an action or other official 

proceeding’ ”].)

Birkner v. Lam (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 275 (Birkner) is instructive. 

Tenants sued their former landlord for wrongful eviction, alleging the 

landlord violated a San Francisco rent ordinance in serving and refusing to 

rescind a notice to terminate their tenancy. (Id. at pp. 278−279.) The trial 

court denied the landlord’s special motion to strike, concluding his conduct 

was not in furtherance of a protected right to petition. (Id. at p. 280.) The 

Court of Appeal disagreed, explaining that the landlord’s service of lease 

termination was statutorily protected as a legal prerequisite for bringing an 

unlawful detainer action. (Id. at pp. 281−282.) As such, both the service of 

and refusal to rescind the termination notice constituted communications 

preparatory to or in anticipation of legal action, protected under Code of Civil 

Procedure section 425.16, subdivision (e). (Birkner, at pp. 283−284.) 

RGC argues that the mechanic’s lien framework does not envision 

duplicative mechanic’s liens. But the analysis does not change merely 

because it alleges Ehmcke’s conduct was unlawful. For example, in Yu v. 

Signet Bank/Virginia (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 298, debtors challenged a 

bank’s practice of filing collection actions in distant judicial forums to prevent 

debtors’ participation. This abusive practice was itself within the ambit of 

prong one of the anti-SLAPP statute because it rested on the bank’s protected 

act of filing a complaint. As the court explained, “[t]his conclusion does not 

imply that the distant forum abuse alleged by the Yus was a valid exercise of 
16

Banks’ constitutional rights. The lawfulness of the defendant's petitioning 

activity is generally not at issue in the ‘arising from’ prong of the anti-SLAPP 

inquiry; that question is ordinarily addressed in the second, ‘minimal merit’

prong of the inquiry relative to the plaintiff's probability of success on the 

merits.” (Id. at p. 317, fn. omitted.)9

b. No additional showing of good faith or serious contemplation of 

litigation was required where the prelitigation communication 

involved the filing of a mechanic’s lien.

Urging a different result, RGC relies on A.F. Brown, supra, 137 

Cal.App.4th 1118, which considered whether a supplier’s issuance of stop 

payment notices qualified as protected activity.10 Concluding it did not, the 

court explained that the filing of a stop notice, like the filing of a mechanic’s 

lien, “is protected under the anti-SLAPP statute only if done when a lawsuit 

related to that act was contemplated in good faith and given serious 

9 An exception applies to illegal conduct, which is not protected under 

prong one. (Flatley, supra, 39 Cal.4th at p. 320.) Either a defense concession 

of illegality or conclusive proof is required for this exception to apply. (City of 

Montebello v. Vasquez (2016) 1 Cal.5th 409, 424.) Moreover, this exception 

requires criminal conduct, not a mere violation of court rules or statutes. 

(G.R. v. Intelligator (2010) 185 Cal.App.4th 606, 616; Mendoza v. ADP 

Screening & Selection Services, Inc. (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 1644, 1654.) 

Even if the filing of duplicative mechanic’s liens is statutorily unauthorized, 

it is not criminal and does not fit the illegality exception.

10 In public works projects like that at issue in A.F. Brown, stop notices 

and payment bonds afford the sole remedies. (Crosno, supra, 47 Cal.App.5th 

at p. 950.) “A stop payment notice notifies a project owner . . . to withhold 

funds due to the direct contractor sufficient to satisfy the amount of the stop 

notice claim, plus reasonable litigation costs.” (Ibid.) Although this case 

pertains to a private construction project, the statutes governing remedies in 

public and private works cover the same subject matter and are construed 

together. (Ibid.) In private works projects, a subcontractor’s filing of a stop 

payment notice is a prerequisite for an action to enforce payment of the claim 

stated in the stop payment notice. (§§ 8550−8560.)
17

consideration.” (A.F. Brown, at pp. 1128−1129.) The supplier’s declarations

made a preliminary showing that it filed the stop notices in good faith belief 

of a legally viable claim. (Id. at p. 1128.) Nevertheless, the declarations 

failed to demonstrate that the stop notices were filed when litigation was 

under serious consideration. (Ibid.) At best, the supplier averred that it 

would pursue all available legal remedies, and a threat of potential legal 

action did not demonstrate that a lawsuit was under serious consideration. 

(Ibid.) 

We believe A.F. Brown was incorrectly decided. The discussion began 

with the since-undermined premise that activity protected under the antiSLAPP statute is “coextensive” with that covered by the litigation privilege. 

(A.F. Brown, supra, 137 Cal.App.4th at p. 1124; § 47, subd. (b).) The court 

then imported into the anti-SLAPP prong one inquiry the same requirements 

required for the litigation privilege to apply—i.e., that prelitigation 

statements “relate[] to litigation that is contemplated in good faith and under 

serious consideration.” (Action Apartment Assn., Inc. v. City of Santa Monica

(2007) 41 Cal.4th 1232, 1251 (Action Apartment).) Several other courts have 

charted a similar course. (See, e.g., Neville v. Chudacoff (2008) 160 

Cal.App.4th 1255, 1268 (Neville); Bel Air Internet, LLC v. Morales (2018) 20 

Cal.App.5th 924, 940−941 (Bel Air); Bailey v. Brewer (2011) 197 Cal.App.4th 

781, 789 (Bailey); People ex rel. Fire Ins. Exchange v. Anapol (2012) 211 

Cal.App.4th 809, 824 (Anapol); Digerati Holdings, LLC v. Young Money 

Entertainment, LLC (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 873, 887.)

As the Supreme Court made clear just months after A.F. Brown was 

decided, although courts may use the litigation privilege “as an aid” in 

determining whether a given communication arises out of protected activity, 

the litigation privilege and anti-SLAPP statute serve different purposes and 
18

are not necessarily coextensive. (Flatley, supra, 39 Cal.4th at pp. 322−323, 

325; see also Third Laguna Hills Mutual v. Joslin (2020) 49 Cal.App.5th 366, 

375 [“The scope of protection from claims under the anti-SLAPP statute is 

not always the same as the scope of protection for communications under the 

litigation privilege.”]; Garretson v. Post (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 1508, 1519 

[challenging A.F. Brown’s characterization of the litigation privilege and antiSLAPP statute as “coextensive,” explaining that “the scope of the litigation 

privilege and the anti-SLAPP statutes significantly differ”].)

Only a few cases endeavor to explain why the substantive restrictions 

to the litigation privilege should apply in prong one to determine whether 

prelitigation communications qualify for anti-SLAPP protection. Neville, 

supra, 160 Cal.App.4th 1255 drew parallels between the anti-SLAPP statute, 

which protects communications made “in connection with an issue under

consideration or review” (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, subd. (e)(2)), and the 

litigation privilege, which requires a statement be “ ‘reasonably relevant’ ” to 

pending or contemplated litigation. (Neville, at p. 1266.) Based on this 

parallel, the court inferred that to arise out of protected activity in prong one

of the anti-SLAPP inquiry, a prelitigation communication must concern the 

subject of the dispute and be made in anticipation of litigation contemplated 

in good faith and under serious consideration. (Id. at p. 1268.) Apart from 

Neville, other cases have taken a policy approach, importing the good faith 

and serious contemplation requirements to “ensure[] that prelitigation 

communications are actually connected to litigation” and further the antiSLAPP objective “of early dismissal of meritless lawsuits that arise from 

protected petitioning activity.” (Bel Air, supra, 20 Cal.App.5th at p. 941; see 

Anapol, supra, 211 Cal.App.4th at p. 824 [requiring that litigation be 
19

seriously contemplated “guarantees that hollow threats of litigation are not 

protected”].)

We sense a potential tension between this line of analysis and the 

Supreme Court’s repeated warnings that prong one requires only a prima 

facie showing of protected activity, not a showing that the defendant’s acts 

were ultimately lawful or constitutionally protected. (Navellier, supra, 29 

Cal.4th at p. 94; Wilson, supra, 7 Cal.5th at p. 888.) Thus, for example, the

anti-SLAPP statute does not “require a defendant to disprove allegations of 

illicit motive” at this initial stage. (Wilson, at p. 887.) Requiring a moving 

defendant to affirmatively show that its statements were made in good faith 

while litigation was seriously contemplated would seem, at least in certain 

contexts, to import a merits inquiry as to whether the statements ultimately 

arose from protected petitioning activity. On the other hand, such criteria 

may be helpful in evaluating prelitigation statements that do not intrinsically 

anticipate litigation. (See, e.g., Rohde v. Wolf (2007) 154 Cal.App.4th 28, 

36‒37 [concluding voicemail messages were protected activity].)

We need not resolve this potential tension here. As Anapol explains, 

defendants impliedly satisfy the good faith and serious contemplation of 

litigation showing where “it is necessary to serve or record a document prior 

to the commencement of litigation.” (Anapol, supra, 211 Cal.App.4th at 

p. 824.) As examples, the Anapol court cited Birkner, supra, 156 Cal.App.4th 

275, 282, where service of a notice of termination was a prerequisite for an 

unlawful detainer action; Feldman v. 1100 Park Lane Associates (2008) 160 

Cal.App.4th 1467, 1480 (Feldman), where service of a three-day notice to quit 

was a “legally required prerequisite to the filing of the unlawful detainer

action”; and Salma v. Capon (2008) 161 Cal.App.4th 1275, 1285, where 

recording a notice of rescission was a necessary prerequisite for a rescission 
20

action. Each of those cases found the moving party’s prong one burden met

by simple evidence of filing without any additional inquiry into the propriety 

of the filing. Indeed, Birkner and Feldman further clarified that a movant is 

not required at the first stage to demonstrate that its conduct was protected 

by the litigation privilege. (Birkner, at p. 284 [whether landlord’s conduct 

was protected by the litigation privilege was “irrelevant” to prong one 

analysis]; Feldman, at p. 1480, fn. 5 [“Park Lane cross-defendants were not 

required at the first stage to demonstrate that serving the notice to quit was 

protected by the litigation privilege.”].)

Distinguishing each of these cases on the facts before it, the Anapol 

court reached a different result because the submission of an insurance claim 

was a necessary prerequisite for either litigation or contractual performance. 

(Anapol, supra, 211 Cal.App.4th at p. 827.) As such, it could not be 

determined “by the mere fact of submission of a claim,” that a claim had been 

submitted in serious contemplation of litigation. (Ibid.) Similarly Bel Air 

reasoned, “when a cause of action arises from conduct that is a ‘necessary 

prerequisite’ to litigation, but will lead to litigation only if negotiations fail or 

contractual commitments are not honored, future litigation is merely 

theoretical rather than anticipated and the conduct is therefore not protected 

prelitigation activity.” (Bel Air, supra, 20 Cal.App.5th at p. 941.) Thus, both 

Anapol and Bel Air suggest that where litigation is merely a possible next 

step, prelitigation statements do not so easily qualify for anti-SLAPP 

protection.

Our case is similar to Birkner, Salma, and Feldman and readily 

distinguishable from Anapol and Bel Air. Recording a mechanic’s lien is a 

necessary prerequisite to a foreclosure action. It is not a prerequisite for 

contractual performance or anything else. As such, it is protected as conduct 
21

preparatory to or in anticipation of litigation. (Briggs, supra, 19 Cal.4th at 

p. 1115.) No additional showing was required for Ehmcke to satisfy its 

moving burden. (Birkner, supra, 156 Cal.App.4th at p. 284 [first prong of “is 

satisfied so long as the record does not show as a matter of law that 

[defendant’s] conduct had ‘no “connection or logical relation” to an action and 

[was] not made “to achieve the objects” of any litigation’ ”].) Questions as to 

Ehmcke’s subjective intent in filing duplicative liens are more appropriately 

addressed in the second prong, where RGC must establish the minimal merit 

of its claims.11

In our view, A.F. Brown errs by requiring more. The electrical 

subcontractor (A.F. Brown) sued its material supplier for libel and unfair 

business practices based on the supplier’s issuance of stop notices to a school 

district where work was performed. (A.F. Brown, supra, 137 Cal.App.4th at 

p. 1125.) In declarations filed with its moving papers, the supplier suggested 

that the stop notices and collection efforts were aimed at collecting amounts 

due. Although the A.F. Brown court deemed this proffer insufficient to show 

that “the acts were taken when litigation was under serious consideration” 

(id. at p. 1128), such a showing was not required because a stop payment 

notice (like a mechanic’s lien) is a necessary prerequisite for bringing an 

11 We likewise distinguish Bailey, which concluded that threats to litigate 

are not protected where the litigation being threatened is barred under res 

judicata. (Bailey, supra, 197 Cal.App.4th at p. 793 [explaining that the right 

to petition “is not implicated where a party has already exercised that right, 

has lost on the merits, and is seeking to relitigate the same action”].) That 

the statutes afford no means to file a mechanic’s lien after proper bonding 

merely provides a defense to a foreclosure action and does not preclude the 

foreclosure action itself. (See, e.g., DKN Holdings LLC v. Faerber (2015) 61 

Cal.4th 813, 824 [defining claim preclusion and issue preclusion].) To 

construe Bailey in the expansive manner suggested by RGC would import a 

merits inquiry into prong one of the anti-SLAPP analysis.
22

enforcement action. (See § 8550.) An inquiry into the supplier’s motives for 

filing the stop notices wades into a merits inquiry appropriately reserved for 

prong two.12

c. Assuming an additional showing was required, Ehmcke’s reply 

declarations established that the fourth lien was filed in good 

faith while seriously contemplating litigation.

Even if A.F. Brown were decided correctly, materials submitted by 

Ehmcke in conjunction with its reply suggest it filed each mechanic’s lien in 

good faith while seriously contemplating litigation. The trial court struck the 

reply declarations in their entirety, citing Jay, supra, 218 Cal.App.4th 1522, 

1537 for the proposition that new evidence is generally not permitted on an 

anti-SLAPP reply. Although we review that decision for abuse of discretion 

(id. at p. 1536), Jay addresses the situation where the moving party attempts 

to introduce “entirely new evidence.” (Id. at p. 1537.) Indeed, it specifically 

recognizes an exception to the general rule where new evidence offered on 

reply “was supplemental to evidence submitted in the moving papers [and] 

not brand new.” (Ibid.; see also id. at p. 1538 [permitting new evidence on 

reply to “fill[] gaps in the evidence created by the [plaintiff’s] opposition”].) 

That is the scenario here, and striking the reply declarations amounted to an 

abuse of discretion. 

RGC alleged in its complaint that Ehmcke filed duplicative liens “for 

the purpose of adversely affecting title” and “with actual malice.” Ehmcke 

responded to these allegations in its moving papers, submitting a declaration 

12 The A.F. Brown court may have reached this result because the 

supplier relied on the litigation privilege to both meet its moving burden and 

defeat any showing of minimal merit. (A.F. Brown, supra, 137 Cal.App.4th at 

p. 1126.) A.F. Brown was also decided five months before Flatley, supra, 39 

Cal.4th 299, which clarified that the litigation privilege and protected antiSLAPP activity are not necessarily coextensive. (Id. at pp. 322−323, 325.)
23

by Vice President Billy Taylor stating that money was due for work 

performed, leading Ehmcke to file successive liens because it “was not 

properly advised”; after retaining counsel, Ehmcke released all the liens, and 

it intended to file no more. Summarizing these factual allegations, Ehmcke 

characterized the fourth lien as “improper” in its moving brief. 

Relying on A.F. Brown, RGC countered in its opposition brief, “If, as 

Ehmcke has declared, it was not properly advised regarding the mechanic’s 

lien framework, then Ehmcke could not have had a lawsuit under ‘serious 

consideration.’ ” It pointed to the fact that Ehmcke never filed suit to 

foreclose on the second, third, or fourth liens to suggest it was never seriously 

considering a lawsuit. As RGC went on to state, “Ehmcke’s bad faith desire 

to cloud RGC’s title is further evidenced by its failure to record a release of 

the fourth and last of the liens until 6 weeks after this lawsuit was filed, and 

7 weeks after it had received a demand from RGC to release the lien.” In 

support of the latter claim, RGC submitted a copy of its July 16 demand 

letter calling the fourth lien untimely and requesting its prompt release by 

July 20, 2018. 

It is in this context that Taylor submitted a declaration on reply 

clarifying why Ehmcke filed successive liens. This evidence did not 

contradict his earlier statement of being misadvised; it instead offered 

texture to rebut the claim that successive liens were filed in a bad faith desire 

to cloud RGC’s title: 

“All four mechanic’s liens were recorded while Ehmcke was 

seriously considering litigation. In fact, Ehmcke typically 

does not record mechanic's liens, and does so when there is 

a problem on the job. Here, Ehmcke recorded the 

mechanic's liens hoping, perhaps naively, that it could 

avoid the time and expense of litigation to get paid for its 

work on the Property through the recordings. Eventually, 

Ehmcke was forced to sue to get paid.” 
24

In addition, Ehmcke submitted declarations from attorneys Richard 

McCarthy and Thomas Landers, who described what transpired after 

Ehmcke received the demand letter. These filings suggested that Ehmcke 

released the fourth lien on July 20 as RGC had requested, a day after this

lawsuit was filed. It filed an amended release a month later to correct a 

minor clerical error in identifying the fourth lien.13

We believe these reply declarations were necessitated by questionable

argument in RGC’s opposition brief that was not reasonably anticipated at 

the time Ehmcke filed its moving papers. We easily distinguish this case

from Jay, where the moving defendants waited until their reply to proffer any 

evidence to meet their moving burden, failing even to address contentions 

made in the complaint. (Jay, supra, 218 Cal.App.4th at p. 1537.) Although 

the complaint alleged malice and an intent to cloud title, Taylor’s moving 

brief responded to these allegations by suggesting Ehmcke was simply 

misadvised. When RGC used this statement to suggest no lawsuit was ever 

contemplated, Ehmcke was entitled to clarify any ambiguity. A misleading 

characterization of when Ehmcke released the fourth lien likewise invited the 

attorney declarations on reply.

Given the nature of RGC’s arguments, new evidence should have been 

permitted on an anti-SLAPP reply. (See Jay, supra, 218 Cal.App.4th at

pp. 1537−1538.) It is true that RGC would have been entitled to respond to 

any new evidence that was received. (Id. at p. 1538.) But any response in 

13 The reply declarations further suggested that Ehmcke’s counsel had 

asked RGC to voluntarily dismiss its action at least eight times after release 

of the fourth lien, highlighting the deadline to file an anti-SLAPP motion. 

RGC’s counsel did not agree to drop the suit until the evening of the motion 

deadline. By that point, Ehmcke asserted it had expended substantial 

attorney’s fees necessitated by RGC’s delayed response and opted to proceed 

with the anti-SLAPP motion. 
25

this context could not defeat the motion because it would merely create a 

disputed factual issue and not bear on whether Ehmcke made a prima facie 

showing of protected activity on prong one. (See, e.g., Feldman, supra, 160 

Cal.App.4th at p. 1480, fn. 5 [“The first step of the anti-SLAPP analysis is 

satisfied, provided that the record does not show as a matter of law that 

[defendant’s] conduct had ‘no “connection or logical relation” to an action and 

[was] not made “to achieve the objects” of any litigation.’ ”].)

In short, we question the rationale of A.F. Brown in light of subsequent 

developments in anti-SLAPP case law, but even if it were correct, the 

evidence submitted with Ehmcke’s moving and reply papers was sufficient to 

meet its burden to show that RGC’s lawsuit arose out of protected petitioning 

activity. All four liens were filed when Ehmcke was seriously contemplating 

litigation, and Ehmcke ultimately did sue to recoup amounts due. Ehmcke 

did not typically record mechanic’s liens and did so only when there were 

problems. Its goal all along was “to get paid for its work on the Property 

through the recordings,” which is the purpose of the mechanics lien 

procedure. The attorney declarations likewise demonstrated that Ehmcke 

released the fourth lien immediately after retaining counsel, the same day 

requested in the demand letter, and a mere day after the complaint was filed. 

These actions suggest that although Ehmcke was mistaken about its legal 

rights at the outset, it recorded its fourth successive mechanic’s lien in good 

faith, seriously contemplating litigation. This prima facie showing suffices to 

meet the burden on prong one.
26

3. Prong Two: Did RGC Offer Sufficient Evidence to Establish the Merit

of its Claim?

The sole cause of action that remained at issue when the anti-SLAPP 

motion was filed was for slander of title.14 Because Ehmcke had already 

released the fourth lien and indicated that no additional liens would be filed, 

RGC’s cause of action for quiet title was moot; there was no longer an “active 

controversy” for declaratory relief; and injunctive relief was unnecessary. 

(See Colyear v. Rolling Hills Community Assn. of Rancho Palos Verdes (2017) 

9 Cal.App.5th 119, 136 [quiet title claim was mooted by withdrawal of 

homeowners’ association claim]; Code Civ. Proc., § 1060 [declaratory relief 

requires an “actual controversy”]; Selby Realty Co. v. City of San 

Buenaventura (1973) 10 Cal.3d 110, 117 [“ ‘actual controversy’ . . . is one 

which admits of definitive and conclusive relief by judgment . . . , as 

distinguished from an advisory opinion upon a particular or hypothetical 

state of facts”]; Donald v. Cafe Royale, Inc. (1990) 218 Cal.App.3d 168, 184 

[“Injunctive relief will be denied where, at the time of the order or judgment, 

no reasonable probability exists of the recurrence of the past acts.”].) As a 

general rule, “[t]he voluntary cessation of allegedly wrongful conduct destroys 

the justiciability of a controversy and renders an action moot unless there is a 

reasonable expectation the allegedly wrongful conduct will be repeated.” 

(Center for Local Government Accountability v. City of San Diego (2016) 

247 Cal.App.4th 1146, 1157.) RGC did not establish any reasonable 

expectation of recurrence here.

14 “The elements of a cause of action for slander of title are ‘(1) a 

publication, (2) which is without privilege or justification, (3) which is false, 

and (4) which causes direct and immediate pecuniary loss.’ ” (Alpha & 

Omega Development, LP v. Whilcock Contracting, Inc. (2011) 200 Cal.App.4th 

656, 664 (Alpha & Omega).) 
27

RGC admits its quiet title action was moot once Ehmcke released the 

fourth lien but nevertheless maintains it was improper to dismiss it under 

the anti-SLAPP statute because the action was not moot when filed. It 

likewise argues without support that declaratory and injunctive relief was 

the only way to prevent Ehmcke from filing of successive liens. These are 

entirely new arguments. When Ehmcke argued mootness in its moving 

papers below, RGC only responded that its cause of action for slander of title

had minimal merit. “It is axiomatic that arguments not asserted below are 

waived and will not be considered for the first time on appeal.” (Ochoa v. 

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 1480, 1488, fn. 3.)15

That leaves RGC’s slander of title claim. As the responding party, 

RGC had to make a prima facie showing that this cause of action had 

minimal merit. (Wilson, supra, 7 Cal.5th at p. 884.) Its “second-step burden 

is a limited one”—a trial court neither weighs the evidence nor resolves 

evidentiary conflicts. (Id. at p. 891.) To overcome any asserted defenses, 

RGC had to show that they were inapplicable as a matter of law or make a 

prima facie showing of facts that, if accepted, would negate such defenses. 

(Birkner, supra, 156 Cal.App.4th at p. 285.) The litigation privilege is one 

such defense that may be considered at prong two. (Ibid.; Feldman, supra, 

160 Cal.App.4th at p. 1485.) The trial court found Ehmcke’s filing of an 

invalid mechanic’s lien was absolutely privileged such that RGC could not 

15 Nor does RGC support its argument with citation to authority. (Rule 

8.204(a)(1)(B).) Although an argument could be made based on the policy 

articulated in Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16, subdivision (a) that the 

anti-SLAPP statute is concerned only with lawsuits “brought” to chill the 

valid exercise of constitutional rights, not for continued prosecution of moot 

actions, such an argument is neither made or implied by RGC here, and we 

do not reach it.
28

show its slander of title claim had minimal merit. We reach the same 

conclusion.

Codified at section 47, subdivision (b), the litigation privilege applies to 

communications made as part of a “judicial proceeding.” Its principal 

purpose is to afford litigants and witnesses “utmost freedom of access to the 

courts without fear of being harassed subsequently by derivative tort 

actions.” (Silberg v. Anderson (1990) 50 Cal.3d 205, 213.) The privilege is 

absolute, providing a defense to all torts except malicious prosecution and 

applying “to all publications, irrespective of their maliciousness.” (Id. at 

pp. 212, 215−216.) In general, the privilege applies to “to any communication 

(1) made in judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings; (2) by litigants or other 

participants authorized by law; (3) to achieve the objects of the litigation; and 

(4) that [has] some connection or logical relation to the action.” (Id. at 

p. 212.) “The privilege ‘is not limited to statements made during a trial or 

other proceedings, but may extend to steps taken prior thereto, or 

afterwards.’ ” (Action Apartment, supra, 41 Cal.4th at p. 1241; quoting 

Rusheen v. Cohen (2006) 37 Cal.4th 1048, 1057.)

RGC could not show that the litigation privilege was categorically 

inapplicable. The privilege extends to all manner of tort actions except 

malicious prosecution, and our court has previously applied the privilege to 

bar an owner’s analogous slander-of-title claim following a subcontractor’s 

unsuccessful attempt to foreclose on a mechanic’s lien. (Alpha & Omega, 

supra, 200 Cal.App.4th at p. 665 [finding the filing of a notice of lis pendens 

protected by the litigation privilege].) In reaching this result, we rejected the 

owner’s argument that the notice of lis pendens was not subject to the 

litigation privilege because the underlying real property claim lacked 

evidentiary merit. (Id. at p. 667.) 
29

As explained more than a half-century ago by Justice Traynor, the 

privilege applies to any publication that is either required or permitted by 

law in the course of a judicial proceeding to achieve that party’s litigation 

objective. (Albertson v. Raboff (1956) 46 Cal.2d 375, 380−381.) “If the 

publication has a reasonable relation to the action and is permitted by law, 

the absolute privilege attaches.” (Ibid., partially abrogated on other grounds 

by § 47, subd. (b)(4).)

Frank Pisano & Associates v. Taggart (1972) 29 Cal.App.3d 1 (Frank 

Pisano) is closely on point. Engineering contractors recorded a mechanic’s 

lien and filed an action for foreclosure and breach of contract. (Id. at p. 10.) 

The property owners filed a cross-complaint for damages, alleging

disparagement of title from the recording of an invalid lien. (Ibid.) When the 

owners appealed the denial of relief on their cross-complaint, the contractors 

argued that pursuant to the litigation privilege, “no liability can be 

predicated upon its filing, even if it was not a valid claim of lien.” (Id. at 

p. 13.) The court agreed. The disparagement of title action was based on the 

filing of a mechanic’s lien, conduct that was absolutely privileged under 

section 47, subdivision (b) because it “was permitted by law and it had a 

reasonable relation to an action to foreclose the lien.” (Frank Pisano, at 

p. 25.) “Any deficiencies in the lien procedure were a matter of defense to the 

action and did not militate against the privilege.” (Ibid.)

RGC suggests Frank Pisano applies solely to the privileged filing of an 

initial mechanic’s lien. But as the trial court explained, the case stands for 

the proposition that “if it’s a privileged act to file a mechanic’s lien, that 

privilege is not lost if it turns out that the mechanic’s lien was not something 

that was ultimately valid or appropriate to do.” We agree with the trial court 

that any deficiency in the lien “goes to the matter of defense to the 
30

[foreclosure] action” but does not defeat the privilege. More generally, a

party cannot avoid the litigation privilege “simply by asserting that litigation 

to which the statement is related is without merit, and therefore the 

proponent of the litigation could not in good faith have believed it had a 

legally viable claim. To adopt such an interpretation would virtually 

eradicate the litigation privilege for all but the most clearly meritorious 

claim.” (Feldman, supra, 160 Cal.App.4th at p. 1489.) Accordingly, RGC did 

not show that the litigation privilege was inapplicable as a matter of law to 

its slander-of-title claim.

Nor did RGC make a prima facie showing of facts that, if accepted, 

would rebut the litigation privilege. Because the policy of promoting judicial 

access is not advanced by shielding attempts to profit from hollow threats, 

prelitigation communications are protected under the litigation privilege only 

if they relate to litigation “contemplated in good faith and under serious 

consideration.” (Action Apartment, supra, 41 Cal.4th at p. 1251.) To 

overcome the litigation privilege on an anti-SLAPP motion, a responding 

party may establish facts that would, if accepted, negate these prerequisites. 

For example, in Olivares v. Pineda (2019) 40 Cal.App.5th 343 (Olivares), 

tenants suing their landlord’s attorneys met their prong-two burden by 

showing that the challenged attorney communication did not precede an 

unlawful detainer action and was instead followed by repeated requests to 

settle short of litigation. (Id. at pp. 357−358.) A similar result was reached 

in Dickinson v. Cosby (2017) 17 Cal.App.5th 655, where attorneys sent a 

demand letter to media outlets threatening litigation if they aired rape 

allegations against their client. The evidence supported a prima facie 

inference that the demand letter was intended as a bluff to silence the media, 

and not sent in serious contemplation of litigation—the letter was sent only 
31

to outlets that had not run the story, and the client had not sued any of the 

multiple media outlets that already ran the story. (Id. at p. 684.)

RGC maintains that the filing of duplicative mechanic’s liens following 

proper bonding, without statutory basis, demonstrates that Ehmcke did not 

file the fourth lien in good faith and seriously contemplating litigation. It 

relies on Vice President Taylor’s opening declaration admitting that Ehmcke 

recorded the four liens because “it was not properly advised of the legal and 

statutory scheme regarding mechanic’s lien law in California.” But admitting 

to being misadvised does not imply a lack of good faith or serious 

contemplation of litigation; indeed, the fact that Ehmcke modified its 

behavior immediately after obtaining new counsel implies just the opposite. 

While no foreclosure action was initiated in the three weeks between the 

filing of the fourth successive lien and this action, there is no evidence 

comparable to that in Olivares to suggest that Ehmcke filed the fourth lien 

merely as a negotiating tactic or hollow threat. As established in Frank 

Pisano, the recording of a mechanic’s lien is absolutely privileged, and does 

not give rise to a slander of title action even if the claim of lien is invalid. 

(Frank Pisano, supra, 29 Cal.App.3d at p. 25.) Because RGC failed to proffer 

facts suggesting a deviation from this rule, the trial court did not err in 

concluding the slander of title action was barred by the litigation privilege.16

To be sure, not every cause of action based on the recordation of an 

invalid mechanic’s lien will be barred by the litigation privilege. Courts have 

long recognized that upon service of preliminary notice or upon later

recordation of a mechanic’s lien, a project owner may seek declaratory and 

injunctive relief challenging the validity of the lien. (Connolly, supra, 17 

16 In light of our conclusion, we do not reach Ehmcke’s alternative 

arguments that RGC failed to show a false publication or damages to 

establish the minimal merit of its slander-of-title claim. 
32

Cal.3d at pp. 822−823; see also 9 Miller & Starr, Cal. Real Estate, supra,

§ 32:37 [“An owner could probably also seek to remove any invalid lien by 

filing an action to quiet title.”].) If Ehmcke had filed several duplicative liens 

before the filing of a release bond, RGC could seek a court order requiring it 

to post a single bond to release all duplicative liens. (T.O., supra, 165 

Cal.App.4th at p. 148.) Or, if Ehmcke had tried to foreclose on an invalid 

lien, RGC could have filed a motion in that action to release the lien. 

(Lambert, supra, 228 Cal.App.3d at pp. 386−387; see Howard S. Wright 

Construction Co. v. Superior Court (2003) 106 Cal.App.4th 314, 318 [“A 

motion to remove a mechanic's lien is recognized as a device that allows the 

property owner to obtain speedy relief from an unjustified lien or a lien of an 

unjustified amount without waiting for trial on the action to foreclose the 

lien.”].) We have found no authority to suggest that these types of actions 

would be barred by the litigation privilege, which generally precludes

derivative tort liability. (Feldman, supra, 160 Cal.App.4th at p. 1486.)

Affirming the anti-SLAPP ruling here does not, as RGC suggests,

render statutory bonding protections “illusory,” “unenforceable,” or 

“meaningless.” Nor would it “nullify the statutory scheme.” There are 

numerous avenues for a project owner burdened by invalid duplicative liens 

to seek judicial relief. Indeed, Connolly expressly permits a project owner to 

seek declaratory or injunctive relief to invalidate duplicative postbonding 

liens. We in no way suggest that quiet title and declaratory relief actions are 

in all instances barred. Rather, those claims were rendered moot here after 

Ehmcke released the fourth mechanic’s lien. When Ehmcke filed its antiSLAPP motion, an actual controversy remained solely as to the slander of 

title cause of action. Because this tort claim was barred by the litigation 
33

privilege, RGC could not establish the minimal merit of its action at prong 

two of the anti-SLAPP inquiry.

4. Fee and Cost Award

A defendant that prevails on an anti-SLAPP motion to strike is 

generally entitled to recover attorney’s fees and costs. (Code Civ. Proc., 

§ 425.16, subd. (c)(1).) RGC asserts that it “does not challenge the amount of 

fees and costs awarded, only the underlying determination that Ehmcke was 

the prevailing party on the anti-SLAPP motion entitled to an award of fees 

and costs.” Because we reject the underlying premise, we affirm the fee and 

cost award.

DISPOSITION

The orders granting the anti-SLAPP motion and awarding Ehmcke fees

and costs are affirmed. Ehmcke is entitled to an award of appellate costs, as 

well as attorney’s fees as the prevailing party in an anti-SLAPP appeal. 

(Dowling v. Zimmerman (2001) 85 Cal.App.4th 1400, 1426.)

DATO, J.

WE CONCUR:

HUFFMAN, Acting P. J.

HALLER, J.