Cedillos v. Madigan [1]

In April 2005, Ronald Cedillos, an Orange County reserve sheriff's deputy, allegedly got into a shouting match at a Newport Beach restaurant with attorney Joe Cavallo. Later, Cedillos allegedly used a key to scratch Cavallo's Bentley automobile.  Michael Madigan, a private investigator who operates TwistedBadge.com [2], a site with the motto "our mission is to promote public awareness of the need to be vigilant in matters involving law enforcement malfeasance," reported [3] the incident.

On May 31, 2005, Madigan received a letter from Cedillos’ attorney demanding a retraction. After Madigan refused to retract the story, Cedillos then filed a defamation action. Madigan responded with a special motion to dismiss under California's anti-SLAPP statute.

On June 22, 2007, a California appellate court affirmed [4] the dismissal.