Browse 26 defamation per se cases decided by California Court of Appeal. AI-powered summaries, holdings, and legal analysis.
College District Wins Wrongful Termination and Defamation Case
Walton v. Victor Valley Community College District, decided by California Court of Appeal on April 15, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former employee, sued the defendant c...
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...
Former Officer's Wrongful Termination and Defamation Claims Against City Rejected
Pagan v. City of San Rafael, decided by California Court of Appeal on April 1, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former police officer, sued the City of San Rafael for wrongf...
Tesla Wins Wrongful Termination Suit Over Whistleblower Claims
Harcourt v. Tesla, decided by California Court of Appeal on April 1, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former Tesla employee, sued Tesla for wrongful termination and retaliat...
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 ...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claims
Semaan v. Mosier, decided by California Court of Appeal on February 6, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Semaan, sued the defendant, Mosier, for defamation after Mosier posted ...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claims
Gerard v. Cuevas, decided by California Court of Appeal on February 5, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Gerard, sued the defendant, Cuevas, for defamation after Cuevas posted ...
Employer's statements during theft investigation protected by qualified privilege
Barbanell v. Lodge, decided by California Court of Appeal on January 8, 2026, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former employee, sued her employer for wrongful termination and defa...
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...
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...
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...
Defamation claim partially succeeds as some statements ruled factual assertions.
Berstein v. Sebring, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 15, 2025, resulted in a mixed outcome. The plaintiff, Bernstein, sued the defendant, Sebring, for defamation after Sebring made a...
Officer's wrongful termination suit fails due to adequate due process
Gilliland v. City of Pleasanton, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 9, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former police officer, sued the City of Pleasanton and...
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 Not Defamatory, Court Rules
Shayan v. Shakib, decided by California Court of Appeal on December 1, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Shayan, sued the defendant, Shakib, for defamation, alleging that Shaki...
LAPD Officer's Retaliation Claim Fails on Appeal
Rodriguez v. City of L.A., decided by California Court of Appeal on November 26, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former LAPD officer, sued the city for wrongful termination...
Court Affirms Zen Center's Victory in Wrongful Termination Case
Lorenzo v. San Francisco Zen Center, decided by California Court of Appeal on November 21, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Lorenzo, sued the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) f...
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...
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...
California appeals court allows defamation suit to proceed over online posts
Murphy v. Pina, decided by California Court of Appeal on October 16, 2025, resulted in a plaintiff win outcome. The plaintiff, Murphy, sued the defendant, Pina, for defamation after Pina posted allege...
Court Affirms Summary Judgment for Employer in Wrongful Termination and Defamation Case
McDoniel v. Kavry Management, decided by California Court of Appeal on September 30, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, a former employee, sued her employer for wrongful termina...
Statements on Social Media Deemed Non-Actionable Opinion
Ahn v. Parisotto, decided by California Court of Appeal on September 24, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Ahn, sued the defendant, Parisotto, for defamation after Parisotto po...
Yacht Club can terminate member for disrupting club's peace and harmony
Ranger v. Alamitos Bay Yacht Club, decided by California Court of Appeal on September 10, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Ranger, sued the defendant, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club,...
Statements of Opinion Protected from Defamation Claims
Atlas v. Davidyan, decided by California Court of Appeal on August 29, 2025, resulted in a defendant win outcome. The plaintiff, Atlas, sued the defendant, Davidyan, for defamation after Davidyan post...
CaseLawBrief currently tracks 26 defamation per se 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.