The following excerpt is from Bowles v. Constellation Brands, Inc., 444 F.Supp.3d 1161 (E.D. Cal. 2020):
Cornell v. Berkeley Tennis Club , 18 Cal. App. 5th 908, 949, 227 Cal.Rptr.3d 286 (2017) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). "[D]efendant generally bears the initial burden of establishing that the statement in question was made on a privileged occasion, and thereafter the burden shifts to plaintiff to establish that the statement was made with malice." Taus v. Loftus , 40 Cal. 4th 683, 721, 54 Cal.Rptr.3d 775, 151 P.3d 1185 (2007).
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