Categories : Legal Ethics
Settlement Demands, Extortion and the Litigation Privilege
By Carole J. Buckner
In People v. Toledano, 2019 WL 2577211 (June 24, 2019), the court addressed an important question of first impression, holding that the litigation privilege, California Civil Code Section 47, may apply as a defense to a criminal prosecution for extortion based on a settlement demand, where the demand is made in a good faith belief in a legally viable claim, and in serious contemplation of litigation, and the statements made are sufficiently connected to the litigation. The court in Toledano found that the lower court’s refusal to so instruct the jury was prejudicial error, requiring a reversal of the conviction against the attorney for extortion.