Court Allows Defense Expert's Defamation Case to Proceed

SAN DIEGO - A California appellate panel has affirmed a trial court order denying a mold activist's bid to dismiss a defamation suit filed over a remark she made in an online posting about trial testimony by a toxicologist who co-authored a widely cited research paper on the effects of mold exposure. Kelman v. Kramer, No. D047758 (Calif. Ct. App., 4th Dist.).

The 4th District Court of Appeals rejected appellant Sharon Kramer's contention that Bruce Kelman's suit violated the state's anti-SLAPP statute ('strategic lawsuit against public participation,'§ 425.16) and concluded that a reasonable jury could find for Kelman.

At issue …