Bryant v. Recall for Lowell's Future Committee

400 P.3d 980, 286 Or. App. 691, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 882
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedJuly 12, 2017
Docket161400285; A156876
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 400 P.3d 980 (Bryant v. Recall for Lowell's Future Committee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bryant v. Recall for Lowell's Future Committee, 400 P.3d 980, 286 Or. App. 691, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 882 (Or. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

ARMSTRONG, P. J.

Plaintiff is a former city councilor for the city of Lowell.- Defendant Recall for Lowell’s Future Committee is a petition committee that was organized to support the recall election against plaintiff. Defendant Hern was the chief petitioner for that effort, and defendant Garratt is the committee’s treasurer. After the election, which plaintiff lost, plaintiff brought suit under ORS 260.532, alleging that defendants had violated that statute by making seven factually false statements in election materials in support of plaintiffs recall. Defendants moved to strike the complaint under ORS 31.150, Oregon’s “anti-SLAPP” statute. The trial court granted that motion and dismissed the case. Plaintiff appeals. Because we conclude that plaintiff did present a prima facie case, as required to defeat an anti-SLAPP motion to strike, with respect to four of the seven statements, we reverse and remand in part and otherwise affirm. As a result, we also reverse the supplemental judgment awarding costs and attorney fees to defendants under ORS 31.152.

Under ORS 31.150, a court engages in a two-step burden-shifting process to resolve a special motion to strike. Young v. Davis, 259 Or App 497, 501, 314 P3d 350 (2013). First, the court must determine whether the defendant has met the burden to show that the claim “‘arises out of one or more protected activities described in subsection (2).” Id. The parties agree that defendants met that burden in this case. Thus, this case turns on the second step, where “the burden shifts to the plaintiff in the action to establish that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim by presenting substantial evidence to support a prima facie case.” ORS 31.150(3). We review a trial court’s grant of a special motion to strike for legal error. Plotkin v. SAIF, 280 Or App 812, 815, 385 P3d 1167 (2016), rev den, 360 Or 851 (2017).

Because the question we must answer is whether plaintiffs evidence was sufficient to establish a prima facie case, we state the facts in the light most favorable to plaintiff. Handy v. Lane County, 360 Or 605, 608 n 1, 385 P3d 1016 (2016). That means “we consider plaintiffs evidence and [693]*693draw the reasonable inferences from that evidence in favor of plaintiff.” Plotkin, 280 Or App at 815-16. Where there is a factual conflict in the evidence, we adopt the version that is most favorable to plaintiff, as long as it is supported by sufficient evidence. Id. We will, consider defendants’ opposing evidence “only to determine if it defeats plaintiffs showing as a matter of law.” Id. (quotation marks and brackets omitted). We start by describing the uncontested procedural facts of this case, and then, in our analysis, turn to the facts as provided in the pleadings and the supporting and opposing declarations and exhibits submitted to the trial court, ORS 31.150(4), viewing that evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff.

Plaintiff was a city councilor for the city of Lowell. In December 2013, she was defeated in a recall election for her position. Defendant Hern, as chief petitioner for plaintiffs recall, had signed a recall petition containing “statements of reasons for demanding [a] recall,” and which was used to obtain voter signatures to support a recall. Before the election, defendants also sent to voters in Lowell a flyer entitled “Facts and Information about Pam Bryant and Gary Reese.” Defendants sent the flyer for the purpose of persuading voters to vote in favor of plaintiffs recall. Following the election, plaintiff brought a complaint against defendants claiming that they had violated ORS 260.5321 because the petition [694]*694and flyer contained seven false statements and defendants either knew, or recklessly disregarded, “that their messages presented factually false statements that were intended to mislead voters in the recall election and cause [plaintiffs] defeat.” Those seven statements are as follows:

1. “[Plaintiff] inferred [sic] City Administrator Chuck Spies was involved in missing city money. Her false inference [sic] nearly cost the city $20,000 for an investigation and a law suite [sic] against the City.”
2. “[Plaintiff] cost the City money by calling the City Attorney without the authorization to do so.”
3. “[Plaintiff] was then fined by the State of Oregon for not following the rules for her publication ‘The Voice.’”
4. “[Plaintiff] has recklessly charged city staff with unsupported allegations, and thus placed the city at risk of ruining people’s careers and reputations, with no foundation, all of which necessitated $1,927.00 of unbudgeted expenditures for legal fees.”
5. “[Plaintiff] incorrectly asserts that she formed ‘Save-Our-Schools Lowell’ to raise money for our schools.”
6. “Save-Our-Schools Lowell does not exist.”
7. “[Plaintiff] made a personal recording of a city council executive session meeting in violation of state law.”

In response to the complaint, defendants filed a special motion to strike under ORS 31.150, Oregon’s anti-SLAPP statute. With regard to plaintiffs prima facie case, defendants admitted that they had published the statements. They contested, however, that the statements were of fact, false, or material, and that they knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded the truth or falsity of the statements. Defendants submitted declarations and exhibits to support their assertions. In response, plaintiff argued that defendants’ special motion to strike should be [695]*695dismissed because they had failed to comply with UTCR 5.010, which requires a moving party to confer with the other party before filing a motion under ORCP 21 and requires the moving party to file a certificate of compliance with the rule. Plaintiff also submitted declarations and exhibits in support of her response, arguing that she had met her burden to establish a prima facie case sufficient to defeat defendants’ special motion to strike.

After receiving plaintiffs response, defendants filed a late UTCR 5.010 certificate of compliance. Defendants also asked under UTCR 1.100 that the trial court grant them relief from application of UTCR 5.010 so that they could file the late certificate. Alternatively, defendants argued that UTCR 5.010 does not apply to a special motion to strike filed under ORS 31.150.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
400 P.3d 980, 286 Or. App. 691, 2017 Ore. App. LEXIS 882, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryant-v-recall-for-lowells-future-committee-orctapp-2017.