As covered by Law360, California's Second Appellate District granted a significant appellate victory to Sheppard clients Amanda Ghost, Gregor Cameron and Vince Holden. The court denied actress Rebel Wilson's motion to dismiss their defamation lawsuit, which alleges that she falsely accused the trio—producers of the musical film "The Deb"—of embezzlement and sexually harassing the film's lead actress.
In a nonpublished order, the court ruled that Wilson's motion to strike the complaint under California's anti-SLAPP statute failed to demonstrate that the plaintiffs' claim arose from protected activity under the statute. Additionally, the court found evidence suggesting Wilson likely knew her statements were untrue and concluded that the producers have shown a probability of prevailing on their defamation claim.
The Sheppard team included Camille Vasquez, Sam Moniz, Honieh Udenka and Melissa Medhat Mikail.
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