NYGARD, INC., v. TIMO UUSI-KERTTULA
Defamation action regarding article in foreign publication, charging plaintiffs--companies whose wealthy owner was prominent in the country where the article was published--with oppressive employment practices was subject to anti-SLAPP motion; newspaper or magazine is a "public forum" for purposes of the anti-SLAPP statute and wide public concern regarding their owner made plaintiffs' employment practices a matter of "public interest." Where published statements attributed to defendant concerned only defendant's personal experiences while working for plaintiff, not sensitive economic information such as trade secrets, financial data, customer information, or information about other employees, plaintiff failed to make prima facie showing that such statements breached confidentiality agreement, implied covenant of fair dealing, or duty of loyalty, or that they constituted an intentional interference with contract. Plaintiffs, who were "public figures," failed to make prima facie showing of actionable defamation where allegedly defamatory statements--such as that working conditions were "horrible" and that defendant "was used"--constituted protected opinion or rhetorical hyperbole, and where declarations by company employees saying that they did not suffer mistreatment of the type reported by publication did not establish that defendant did not suffer and did not see others suffer such mistreatment.
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