Brenton v. Metabolife International, Inc.
California Court of Appeal
116 Cal. App. 4th 679 (2004)
Relevant factsFree
Ashleigh Brenton (plaintiff) suffered a psychotic breakdown she attributed to taking Metabolife 356, a supplement made and marketed by Metabolife International (defendant), and sued for product liability, negligence, and false advertising. Metabolife moved to strike the complaint under California's anti-SLAPP statute, arguing the suit targeted its protected commercial speech; the trial court denied the motion, and Metabolife appealed.
IssueFree
Whether the anti-SLAPP statute's protections apply to a lawsuit based on the defendant's factual representations about its own products, made to promote sales and directed at potential customers, given the statute's commercial-speech exception.