Defendant Was Paid Under The Settlement Agreements, With The Appellate Court Finding No Public Policy Bar Against Bargaining Away SLAPP Fee Recovery.
In Patel v. Vaghashia, Case No. B346281 (2d Dist., Div. 5 Sept. 3, 2026) (unpublished), a defendant did win a SLAPP motion against plaintiff’s abuse of process causes of action. However, because plaintiff had indemnity rights by another party, the indemnitor paid $500,000 to defendant under two settlement agreements (with plaintiff not being a party to either), but under which costs and fees essentially were waived by the settling defendant. The lower court denied defendant’s approximate $230,000 fee request based on the settlement agreements. That conclusion was affirmed on appeal, with the reviewing court concluding that there was no public policy bar to a defendant bargaining away SLAPP fee recovery, which is what occurred in this case.