Hueston Hennigan prevailed at the California Court of Appeal for McDonald’s USA, convincing the court to unanimously affirm the dismissal of a $100 million fraud suit brought by Byron Allen over ad spend on black-owned media through a motion under California’s “anti-SLAPP” statute. The justices rendered their opinion just days after Moez Kaba argued before the panel.
Allen sued McDonald’s in California state court in 2023, after McDonald’s announced its goal to increase spending with diverse-owned media companies, production houses and content creators. Allen’s suit claimed McDonald’s goal was an enforceable promise and that McDonald’s engaged in fraud by failing to spend at least $50 million per year with his companies. Hueston Hennigan persuaded the trial court to grant McDonald’s special anti-SLAPP motion to strike, dismissing Allen’s lawsuit in full after determining McDonald’s conduct was protected and Allen failed to make a prima facie showing that he could prevail. The court ruled that McDonald’s was entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs for defending against the lawsuit.
In addition to Mr. Kaba, the Hueston Hennigan team included John Hueston, Michael Todisco, Karen Ding, Justin Greer and Arianna Demas.
The appellate ruling garnered press including in Law360, The Recorder, Bloomberg Law and the Daily Journal.