Last Friday, defendant Netflix Inc. appealed the motion to strike it lost before the trial court to plaintiff Nona Gaprindashvili, a chess legend who claimed that the film studio and online streaming platform defamed her through a line uttered in its fictional series “The Queen’s Gambit.” The notice of appeal challenges the court’s determination as to Netflix’s California Anti-SLAPP Statute, which shields defendants from lawsuits that seek to curb constitutionally protected free speech.
As previously reported, and in its January 27 opinion, the court found that the plaintiff made a sufficient showing as to each element of her defamation per se claim. The court denied both Netflix’s motion to dismiss and motion to strike, ruling as to the latter that though the cause of action arose from a protected activity, Gaprindashvili demonstrated a reasonable probability of success on the merits, defeating the defense.
In its anti-SLAPP analysis, the court first considered Netflix’s evidentiary objections to an additional exhibit submitted by the plaintiff. Because Judge Phillips found it unnecessary to rely on those statements, she declined to rule on Netflix’s objections.
The court then turned to whether the activity was a protected one, ultimately concluding that the defamation claim stemmed from Netflix’s actions in furtherance of its right of free speech in connection with a public issue. Having already determined the plaintiff’s likelihood of success on the merits of her claim, Judge Phillips looked at whether the plaintiff made a sufficient prima facie factual showing of admissible evidence.
In this regard, the court pointed to declarations submitting that viewers interpreted the line as defamatory and one by chess master Nicholas Carlin pointing out that if Netflix had done a little research, it would have realized that the line at issue was utterly false. “Plaintiff has made a prima facie factual showing sufficient to sustain a favorable judgment; evidence that Netflix fails to overcome at this stage,” Judge Phillips concluded.
Now, the interlocutory appeal will proceed to the Ninth Circuit. Gaprindashvili is represented by Rufus-Isaacs Acland & Grantham LLP and Netflix by King & Spalding LLP.
