California Supreme Court Watch

#20-110 Serova v. Sony Music Entertainment, S260736. (B280526; 44 Cal.App.5th 103; Los Angeles County Superior Court; BC548468.)  Petition for review after the Court of Appeal affirmed in part and reversed in part an order granting in part and denying in part a special motion to strike in a civil action. This case presents the following issues: (1) Do representations a seller made about a creative product on the product packaging and in advertisements during an ongoing controversy constitute speech in connection with an issue of public interest within the meaning of the anti-SLAPP statute (Code of Civ. Proc., § 425.16)? (2) For purposes of liability under the Unfair Competition Law (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17200 et seq.) and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act (Civ. Code, § 1750 et seq.), do the seller’s marketing representations constitute commercial speech, and does it matter if the seller lacked personal knowledge that the representations were false? (See Kasky v. Nike, Inc. (2002) 27 Cal.4th 939.)

Review granted: 4/22/2020

Case fully briefed: 11/12/2020

Cause argued and submitted: 5/24/2022

See the California Court of Appeal Opinion.

See the Petition for Review.