Ness v. Rondberg [1]

Peri Ness, the founder of Synergy Yoga, filed a lawsuit in California state court against Terry Rondberg, a former student of Synergy Yoga, and Michelle DePalma, a former teacher there, after they created TruthAboutSynergyYoga.com [2].  According to an appellate decision in the case [3], the website accused Synergy Yoga of being a cult and Ness of being a cult leader.

The trial court granted Ness a temporary restraining order, which prevented Rondberg and DePalma from publishing and maintaining TruthAboutSynergyYoga.com [2]. The website no longer hosts content [2], but promises to return.

Rondberg and DePalma filed a special motion to strike the complaint under California's anti-SLAPP statute (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.16 [4]).  The court denied the motion on procedural grounds.  Rondberg and DePalma appealed, and a California appellate court affirmed [3] the trial court's ruling.