{"id":233,"date":"2026-04-27T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california.shuster.info\/?p=233"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:00:00","slug":"yolo-solano-air-quality-defty-anti-slapp-cross-complaint-agency-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california.shuster.info\/?p=233","title":{"rendered":"People ex rel. Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District v. Defty \u2014 Cross-Complaint Challenging Validity of Underlying Agency Policy Does Not Arise From Protected Activity for Anti-SLAPP Purposes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Case<\/dt>\n
People ex rel. Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District v. Defty<\/dd>\n
Court<\/dt>\n
3rd District Court of Appeal<\/dd>\n
Date Decided<\/dt>\n
2026-04-27<\/dd>\n
Docket No.<\/dt>\n
C102574<\/dd>\n
Status<\/dt>\n
Reported \/ Citable<\/dd>\n
Topics<\/dt>\n
Anti-SLAPP; Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16; agricultural exemption; air quality management; rulemaking; declaratory and injunctive relief<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Background<\/h2>\n

The Yolo-Solano Air Quality Management District is a regional air pollution control agency. Diamond D General Engineering, Inc. provides agricultural services to farmers and ranchers, and Spencer Defty is Diamond’s chief executive officer. Between 2023 and 2024, the District issued three notices of violation against Diamond for operating equipment without a permit, failing to install emission controls, and failing to minimize smoke in an agricultural burn.<\/p>\n

The District’s position rested on an internal policy interpreting an agricultural exemption to exclude independent contractors that provide services to farmers (relying on cases such as Farmers Reservoir & Irrigation Co. v. McComb and Julius Goldman’s Egg City v. Air Pollution Control District). Diamond and Defty disputed this interpretation and inquired about administrative review. The District confirmed the notices were not appealable through its hearing board.<\/p>\n

The District eventually sued Diamond, Defty, and Knotty Wood Barbecue Company for statutory and regulatory violations and for failing to correct conduct after receiving the notices. Diamond and Defty cross-complained for declaratory and injunctive relief, alleging that the District’s underlying interpretive policy had not gone through proper rulemaking and was therefore invalid. The District filed an anti-SLAPP motion to strike the cross-complaint, which the trial court denied. The District appealed.<\/p>\n

The Court’s Holding<\/h2>\n

The Third District Court of Appeal affirmed. The court held that the cross-complaint did not arise from the District’s protected activities under the anti-SLAPP statute (Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16) because the cross-complaint challenged the validity of the underlying policy on which the District’s activities were based, not the activities themselves.<\/p>\n

For purposes of the anti-SLAPP analysis, a court must focus on the conduct that gives rise to the cause of action. The District’s investigation, issuance of notices of violation, settlement discussions, and filing of the underlying lawsuit are all protected activities under the anti-SLAPP statute. But the cross-complaint did not seek relief based on those specific actions; instead, it challenged the validity of the underlying interpretive policy that the District claimed authorized those actions. A challenge to the validity of an agency policy is not the same as a challenge to the agency’s enforcement actions taken under that policy. The protected activity is at most evidence of how the policy is applied, not the gravamen of the cross-complaint.<\/p>\n

Because the cross-complaint did not arise from protected activity, the court did not need to consider whether the cross-complainants had a likelihood of success on the merits. The court also published the opinion in part to clarify that where it is easier to dispose of an anti-SLAPP motion on its merits, courts need not address the public interest exemption to the anti-SLAPP statute.<\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n