Emanuel Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Dominique (Summary)

SLAPP

Emanuel Med. Ctr., Inc. v. Dominique, No. F066648 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 27, 2014)

The California Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s order to strike a hospital’s cross-complaint against an employee under the anti-SLAPP (“Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation”) statute.

An employee was hired by the hospital to create and manage a cardiovascular services department. After several encounters with a surgeon who was angry at being asked to report his schedule, the employee was told she was being investigated due to her managerial style. Soon after, she alleged that she was told that she had “lost the support of her staff,” was placed on administrative leave, and was informed that her employment would be terminated. The employee filed a complaint for wrongful termination. The hospital discovered that the employee had continued to access her company e-mails even after being notified of her termination. The hospital, therefore, filed a cross-complaint alleging that she stole proprietary information by e-mailing work e-mails to her personal e-mail account. The employee sought to strike this cross-complaint, arguing that the employee’s e-mails were a means of gathering evidence for her attorney, which is a protected activity. The court agreed with this assertion and struck the hospital’s claims.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s decision to strike the hospital’s cross-complaint. The court found that the employee’s act of accessing and collecting e-mails was protected under the anti-SLAPP statute, because it arose from the protected act of filing a complaint and because it was a means of communication with her attorneys in preparation for bringing an action. However, the court clarified that forwarding e-mails to oneself does not constitute protected activity. Additionally, the court concluded that the hospital did not make the requisite showing that the access to e-mails was unlawful or resulted in any actual damage.