SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

Civil Division
Central District, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Department 72

21STCV35635 March 29, 2022

CHRIS NELSON vs PHOEBE BRIDGERS 9:30 AM

Judge: Honorable Curtis A. Kin CSR: None

Judicial Assistant: M.F. Lopez ERM: None
Courtroom Assistant: M. Rodriguez Deputy Sheriff: None

APPEARANCES:
For Plaintiff(s): Tiffany B. Hunter (via LACC)
For Defendant(s): Michael Henry Strub, Jr (In Person)

NATURE OF PROCEEDINGS: Case Management Conference; Hearing on Motion for Leave

to conduct specified discovery

The Court's tentative ruling is posted online for parties to review.

The matter is called for hearing.

Hearing on Motion to Compel Discovery is held and argued.

The Court adopts its tentative ruling as the final order of the Court, as follows:

Plaintiff Chris Nelson’s Motion to Permit Deposition of Defendant Phoebe Bridgers is

GRANTED.

Pursuant to CCP § 425.16(g), plaintiff seeks leave to take the deposition of defendant and
request documents before opposing the Special Motion to Strike. In the Special Motion to Strike,
defendant maintains that plaintiff is a limited purpose figure who cannot recover damages for
defamation unless defendant “published the challenged statements with knowledge of their
falsity or while entertaining serious doubts as to their truth,” characterized as “actual malice.”
(See 2/14/22 Special Motion to Strike at 20:20-22, quoting Reed v. Gallagher (2016) 248
Cal.App.4th 841, 862; see also Jackson v. Mayweather (2017) 10 Cal.App.5th 1240, 1260.)
Defendant maintains that she believes the alleged defamatory statements she made about plaintiff
on Instagram, including the statements from Emily Bannon to which she referred and endorsed,
are true. (2/14/22 Bridgers Decl. ¶¶ 13, 14.) Based on a purported lack of actual malice in
making the alleged defamatory statements, defendant moves to strike the First Amended
Complaint.

Minute Order Page 1 of 2

 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
Civil Division
Central District, Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Department 72

21STCV35635 March 29, 2022

CHRIS NELSON vs PHOEBE BRIDGERS 9:30 AM

Judge: Honorable Curtis A. Kin CSR: None

Judicial Assistant: M.F. Lopez ERM: None
Courtroom Assistant: M. Rodriguez Deputy Sheriff: None

Good cause for discovery prior to resolution of an anti-SLAPP motion is present in a defamation
cause involving a public figure when the defendant is the primary source of evidence regarding
actual malice. (Balla v. Hall (2021) 59 Cal.App.5th 652, 692-93; see also Lafayette Morehouse,
Inc. v. Chronicle Publishing Co. (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 855, 868 [finding that libel defendant
“will generally be the principal, if not the only, source of evidence concerning such matters as
whether that defendant knew the statement published was false, or published the statement in
reckless disregard of whether the matter was false and defamatory”].)

Here, based on defendant’s declaration in support of the Special Motion to Strike, assuming that
plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint arises from protected activity, which plaintiff does not
appear to dispute for purposes of this motion, plaintiff must demonstrate that defendant knew or
recklessly disregarded that the alleged defamatory statements were false before publication. The
inquiry into actual malice is a “subjective test, under which the defendant's actual belief
concerning the truthfulness of the publication is the crucial issue.” (Reader's Digest Assn. v.
Superior Court (1984) 37 Cal.3d 244, 257.) Because the subjective belief of defendant is critical,
defendant herself is necessarily the primary, if not sole, source of evidence regarding actual
malice.

The motion is GRANTED. Plaintiff Chris Nelson may serve notice of deposition and document
requests on defendant Phoebe Bridgers. The deposition and document requests shall be limited to
the issue of actual malice for the purpose of opposing defendant’s Special Motion to Strike. The
deposition is to take place by no later than April 29, 2022.

Defendant’s Special Motion to Strike is set for hearing on June 16, 2022 at 9:30 a.m., in
Department 72 of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse.

The plaintiff's Motion for Leave for Order Permitting Deposition of Defendant filed by Chris
Nelson on 03/03/2022 is Granted.

Notice is waived.

Minute Order Page 2 of 2