Brown v. Cole CA2/2

Filed 10/3/25 Brown v. Cole CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

LANA BROWN, B339587

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 23STCV24085) v.

JONATHAN COLE,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Jessica A. Uzcategui, Judge. Affirmed. PTAH Law Group and Cherisse Gay Lanier for Plaintiff and Appellant. Lester, Cantrell & Kraus, Colin A. Northcutt and Cole Heggi for Defendant and Respondent.

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Lana Brown appeals from an order entered after the trial court granted a special motion to strike (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16, commonly known as an anti-SLAPP motion) filed by defendant Jonathan Cole. Brown alleges that Cole engaged in misconduct while serving as court- appointed counsel and guardian ad litem in underlying probate and trust proceedings. In her opening brief, Brown argues that the trial court erred in granting Cole’s anti-SLAPP motion because (among other asserted errors) the court should not have found that the claims against Cole arose from protected activity under the anti-SLAPP statute. Brown, however, has failed to provide an adequate record for appellate review. We must presume that the record before the trial court supports its ruling, and we accordingly affirm the order granting Cole’s anti-SLAPP motion. BACKGROUND In designating the record on appeal, Brown requested that the court clerk provide only a handful of documents. Noticeably absent from Brown’s designation were her complaint, Cole’s Anti-SLAPP motion, Brown’s own opposition papers, the reply, evidence submitted by the parties in connection with the motion, objections to the evidence, and other documents necessary for an adequate review. (See Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.122(a), (b)(3)(A)–(B) [notice designating documents in a clerk’s transcript must include documents filed in trial court and exhibits admitted in evidence].) As the record on appeal is inadequate, we briefly summarize the factual background recounted in the trial court’s order granting Cole’s anti-SLAPP motion: In February 2020, Brown filed a petition for conservatorship of Grace Elaine Taylor Barnwell, alleging that