Browse 26 actual malice standard cases decided by California Court of Appeal. AI-powered summaries, holdings, and legal analysis.
Appellate court affirms summary judgment for defendant in defamation case
Zand v. Sukumar, decided by California Court of Appeal on April 14, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Zand, sued the defendant, Sukumar, for defamation, alleging that Sukumar m...
Online reviews protected as opinion, not defamation
Clarke v. Yu, decided by California Court of Appeal on March 16, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Clarke, sued the defendant, Yu, for defamation after Yu posted negative revie...
Statements of Fact vs. Opinion in Defamation Case
Clapkin v. Levin, decided by California Court of Appeal on March 16, 2026, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The plaintiff, Clapkin, sued the defendant, Levin, for defamation after Levin published ...
Appellate court affirms summary judgment in defamation case due to lack of malice evidence
Nichols v. Alghannam, decided by California Court of Appeal on March 6, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Nichols, sued the defendant, Alghannam, for defamation, alleging that ...
Public figure defamation claim fails for lack of actual malice
Semaan v. Mosier, decided by California Court of Appeal on February 26, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Semaan, sued the defendant, Mosier, for defamation after Mosier made a...
Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Defamation Case Due to Lack of Actual Malice
Haun v. Pagano, decided by California Court of Appeal on February 18, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Haun, sued the defendant, Pagano, for defamation after Pagano made alleg...
Sheriff Not Liable for Excessive Force in Arrest
Bagby v. Davis, decided by California Court of Appeal on February 17, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former inmate, sued the defendant sheriff for alleged excessive force ...
Appellate court affirms summary judgment for defendant in defamation case
De Paolo v. Rosales, decided by California Court of Appeal on January 27, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, De Paolo, sued the defendant, Rosales, for defamation, alleging that...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claims
Iloff v. LaPaille, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 23, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Iloff, sued the defendant, LaPaille, for defamation after LaPaille po...
Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Defamation Case
Fancourt v. Zargaryan, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 22, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Fancourt, sued the defendant, Zargaryan, for defamation, alleging...
Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Defamation Case
Eng v. Opperman, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 22, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Eng, sued the defendant, Opperman, for defamation, alleging that Opperm...
Statements accusing person of crimes are factual, not opinion
Amaro v. Weber, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 19, 2025, resulted in a mixed outcome. The plaintiff, Amaro, sued the defendant, Weber, for defamation after Weber published statement...
Appellate court affirms summary judgment in defamation case
Alonso v. Herrera, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 17, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Alonso, sued the defendant, Herrera, for defamation, alleging that He...
Statements of Opinion Not Actionable Defamation
Vergara v. Ouse, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 15, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Vergara, sued the defendant, Ouse, for defamation after Ouse made alleg...
Statements about business can be defamation if factual and false
Treybig v. Meza, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 12, 2025, resulted in a mixed outcome. The plaintiff, Treybig, sued the defendant, Meza, for defamation, alleging that Meza made fals...
Court Affirms Defamation Ruling Against Online Publisher
Andrews v. Wagner, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 3, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The plaintiff, Andrews, sued the defendant, Wagner, for defamation after Wagner poste...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claims
Noon v. Fuentes, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 2, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Noon, sued the defendant, Fuentes, for defamation after Fuentes publishe...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claims
Sproul v. Vallee, decided by California Court of Appeal on November 21, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Sproul, sued the defendant, Vallee, for defamation after Vallee posted...
Netflix's 'One Taste' Documentary Not Defamatory; Court Rules for Netflix
Onetaste Incorporated v. Netflix, Inc., decided by California Court of Appeal on November 20, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Onetaste Incorporated, sued Netflix, Inc. for de...
Statements alleging fraud found to be factual assertions, not protected opinion
Snover v. Gupta, decided by California Court of Appeal on November 18, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The plaintiff, Snover, sued the defendant, Gupta, for defamation after Gupta published...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claim
Baer v. Tedder, decided by California Court of Appeal on November 10, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Baer, sued the defendant, Tedder, for defamation after Tedder published ...
Court Affirms Dismissal of Defamation Claim Against Online Publisher
Evleshin v. Meyer, decided by California Court of Appeal on November 6, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Evleshin, sued the defendant, Meyer, for defamation after Meyer posted...
Appellate Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Defendant in Contract Dispute
Lee v. Yan, decided by California Court of Appeal on November 3, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Lee, sued the defendant, Yan, for breach of contract and fraud after Yan fail...
Court Affirms Imputed Income in Child Support Case
X.K. v. M.C., decided by California Court of Appeal on July 24, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The core dispute involved a father's challenge to a child support order, arguing that the cou...
Statements of Opinion Not Defamatory
Prato v. Gioia, decided by California Court of Appeal on June 27, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Prato, sued the defendant, Gioia, for defamation, alleging that Gioia made f...
Landlord Wins Damages for Unpaid Rent and Attorney's Fees
Amundson v. Catello, decided by California Court of Appeal on June 3, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The core dispute in Amundson v. Catello concerned whether a landlord could recover dama...
CaseLawBrief currently tracks 26 actual malice standard cases from California Court of Appeal. This number is updated as new opinions are published.
Outcome breakdown: Defendant Win: 20, Plaintiff Win: 4, Mixed: 2.
Each case page on CaseLawBrief includes an AI-generated plain English summary, key holdings, and legal analysis. Click any case above to read its full analysis.