Velie v. Hill CA2/6

Filed 8/26/21 Velie v. Hill CA2/6

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 SIX

KAREN VELIE, 2d Civil No. B299267 (Super. Ct. No. 17CV-0622) Plaintiff and Appellant, (San Luis Obispo County)

v.

ADAM HILL et al.

Defendants and Respondents.

Karen Velie appeals an order granting respondents’ special motion to strike her complaint as a strategic lawsuit against public participation. (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16.)1 Respondent Adam Hill’s2 disparaging remarks about Velie and his calls to boycott her online news site prompted her to sue both Hill and

We cite the Code of Civil Procedure unless noted 1

otherwise.

Hill died suddenly while the appeal was pending. Justin 2

P. Karczag, lead counsel for appellant, passed away one month later.

respondent County of San Luis Obispo. We conclude her allegations fall squarely within the anti-SLAPP statute. Velie also fails to establish a probability of prevailing on the merits of her claims against either respondent. We affirm. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Velie is a journalist and former owner of Cal Coast News (CCN), a website reporting on issues of public interest in San Luis Obispo County. Hill served on the county’s Board of Supervisors from 2008 through August of 2020. The two first butted heads in 2012 when CCN accused Hill of impersonating a political opponent during a phone call. Later that year CCN reported that Hill’s girlfriend, the head of a local social services agency, used donated gift cards for personal purchases. Hill accused Velie of sensationalizing the incidents and using poor journalistic standards. In turn, Velie accused Hill of pressuring local businesses to cease advertising on CCN’s website and convincing a local talk radio host to stop interviewing Velie on air. Their animosity grew over the next four years. Posts mocking and criticizing Velie began appearing in online forums such as Topix and Reddit. A Facebook page called “Cal Coast Fraud” dedicated itself to discrediting CCN, with Hill frequently the first to “like” and share links to the page’s posts. Members of these groups mocked Velie and baited her with comments about her mental health and family troubles. Velie suspected Hill and his “left-leaning” political allies orchestrated the attacks in retaliation for reporting on the supervisor’s purported misdeeds. She also suspected Hill used his influence to place her three grandchildren into foster care and to restrict her access to county records. Hill denied the claims. He chided Velie in private emails for “ax-grinding vindictiveness” and told her to seek mental health services.