Coretronic Corp. v. Cozen O'Connor

In Coretronic Corp. v. Cozen O'Connor (2011) 192 Cal.App.4th 1381, the plaintiffs sued their former law firm after discovering that the law firm was representing the plaintiffs' adversary in an unrelated lawsuit. The plaintiffs alleged claims arising from the law firm's improperly obtaining confidential information from the plaintiffs that would benefit their adversary. The defendant law firm filed a motion to strike, arguing that the claims arose from its representation of its other clients. However, the trial court denied the motion, and the appellate court affirmed, finding that the complaint did not arise from protected activity. (Id. at p. 1385.) The court agreed with the plaintiffs that the basis of their claims was "the fact of this conflicting representation, and not any litigation-related statements or conduct." (Id. at p. 1389.) The court thus concluded that "the complaint does not target litigation-related activity." (Ibid.)