Daily Journal Covers Ryan Baker’s Anti-SLAPP Argument Before California High Court

On February 6, 2019, Ryan Baker argued FilmOn.com, Inc. v. DoubleVerify, Inc. before the California Supreme Court. In the Daily Journal article, “State high court mulls a challenge to anti-SLAPP law,” Baker discussed his representation of media company FilmOn.com in the appeal of a lawsuit dismissed on anti-SLAPP grounds. FilmOn initially filed claims against DoubleVerify, a company that provides confidential reports to advertisers. FilmOn.com alleges that DoubleVerify’s reports mislead advertisers, causing them to cancel advertising contracts.

Baker argued DoubleVerify’s comments were not speech protected by California’s anti-SLAPP statute because they provided confidentially, for a fee to individual advertisers. He also argued that the application of the anti-SLAPP statute has broadened so much that it’s now preventing wronged parties from pursuing legitimate claims. “What DoubleVerify has done has taken this law and built a legal moat around its business,” he told Daily Journal. Based on Baker’s argument, the state Supreme Court is now evaluating the bounds of anti-SLAPP protection in a commercial setting.