Okorie v. Los Angeles Unified Sch. Dist., 2017 WL 3499226 (Cal. Ct. App. 2017)
Dioka Okorie sued his employer, the Los Angeles Unified School District and others, alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation. In response, the District filed an anti-SLAPP motion seeking dismissal of Okorie’s lawsuit on the ground that Okorie’s complaint was based on protected activity engaged in by the District as part of its internal investigation into an allegation of molestation that was made against Okorie by a former student. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed Okorie’s lawsuit. The Court of Appeal affirmed, holding that Okorie’s claims were based on protected activity on the part of the District and that Okorie did not show a probability of prevailing on his discrimination claims. Compare Bonni v. St. Joseph Health Sys., 13 Cal. App. 5th 851 (2017) (whistleblower surgeon’s retaliation claim should not have been dismissed under anti-SLAPP statute because it was unrelated to hospital peer review process).
