Bradley v. Raceway Ford
In March 2008, Plaintiff James Bradley bought a truck from Respondent Raceway Ford, Inc. (Raceway) and filled out various forms on which he notated his personal information, including his Social Security number, in order to finance the purchase. On December 3, 2009, two persons who identified themselves as law enforcement officials came to Raceway and requested to review Bradley's file pertaining to the purchase of the truck. Raceway showed the information to the officials.
Bradley filed a lawsuit against Raceway alleging, based on the disclosure, that he suffered identify theft, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. Raceway filed a special motion to strike the complaint (SLAPP[1] motion) pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16. Raceway appeals from the trial court's order denying its motion.
We conclude that the act of publishing the documents in Bradley's file to law enforcement officials was absolutely privileged under Civil Code section 47, subdivision (b) and is subject to a SLAPP motion. We also conclude that Bradley failed to show a probability that he would prevail on his claims. We remand for the trial court to grant the SLAPP motion and dismiss Bradley's complaint.
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