4DCA Division 1 Oral Argument - 2026/07/14 - Jul 14, 2026

argument

4DCA Division 1 Oral Argument - 2026/07/14

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What procedural steps does the clerk’s office give for remote participants at the start of the hearing?

... ...
Martha 6:32
Good morning. This is Martha from the clerk's office. I will be doing a quick check-in for those of you appearing remotely. If you can please turn on your microphone and your video. Okay. Just please state your presence when I call your name. I have Akechi Dentz.
E. Katie Dance 6:52
Present.
Martha 6:54
Okay. I'm going to ask you that you please keep your microphone and your video off until your case is called. If you experience any technical difficulties during the oral argument session, immediately exit the video conference and use the phone number and the access code that I emailed you this morning. Okay? And so just keep everything off, and court will be with you shortly. Thank you.
Unknown 14:19
Good morning.
Thank you.
Unknown 20:21
Good morning and welcome to the Court of Appeal. Just a few things before we get started this morning. When you come up to argue, please make sure you adjust the podium using the switch here on the right-hand side so the microphone is pointing at your chin. If you don't, the justices won't hear you and they'll stop you mid-argument to have you properly vest it. The appellate table is here to my right. Will courts in session please keep talking noise down to a minimum? If you have to use the restroom, you'll have to come back through screen to come back and set the courtroom. Any questions for me this morning?
Thank you.
Okay.
Unknown 24:14
Well,
Unknown 24:32
good morning. Welcome to the Court of Appeal. We do have a panel change this morning, but with me on the first panel are Justice Doe to my right and Justice Buchanan to my left. But on all of the matters, keep in mind we're very familiar with your briefs. And so just highlight those issues you think are most important. We'll start with Eagle Colton 55 versus City of Colton.
Unknown 25:12
Whenever Whenever you're ready. Please state your appearance and let us know if you wish to reserve time to respond. The podium is adjustable if you want to bring it down. There you go. Better? That's fine. Okay. Hi, Tim here.
Diane Huntley 25:33
Good morning, Your Honor. Diane Huntley on behalf of Appellant City of Colton and its Housing Authority and its Finance Director, Stacey Dabbs. And I'd like to reserve three minutes to respond to respondents' arguments. Okay, you may proceed. Okay, may I please the court? This is a case involving... We're very familiar with the case. Okay, okay. It's an anti-SLAPP case between two cities. Basically, it involves financing for a senior housing project. The city of Colton entered into an agreement with Respondent Eagle... MS.
Unknown 26:13
We know, we're very familiar with what the case is about. The real question is, well, they believe it's not a matter within the first prong, so you might address that, but I think the real question is whether they could meet the second prong.
Diane Huntley 26:31
MS. So, I think in the first prong, this is clearly a case of protected activity. The underlying official activity involved Colton's enforcement of its promissory note and Yucaipa's due diligence in investigating a similar housing project with Eagle. The trial court properly determined that it was a protected activity under anti-SLAPP and The statute provides that under the first prong, any official proceeding authorized by law, any written or oral statement made in connection with a matter under review by the city as a governing body, or any conduct and furtherance of petition or free speech rights in connection with a matter of public interest. We believe that Colton has shown that it meets these standards in multiple protected categories.
Diane Huntley 27:35
As to the second prong, the trial court only looked at the allegations from EGLE and did not take into consideration the defenses put forward by the city and erroneously determined that EGLE had set forth a prima facie case of a probability of prevailing on their claims. Actually...
Unknown 28:01
The court didn't address the Government Claims Act in its order?
Diane Huntley 28:05
It did. It did, yes. Basically, that's a matter of first impression before the court today because what the Government Claims Act under Section 915 provides that there's specific recipients entitled to receive a claim. The first is directly the clerk secretary or an auditor of the entity.

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