Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Pleadings Demanding Relief · Article 1. General Provisions · Enacted 2023 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The lack of affordable housing is a critical problem that threatens the economic, environmental, and social quality of life in California.
(2) It is in the public interest to encourage priority housing development projects in which 100 percent of the units, exclusive of any manager's unit or units, are reserved for lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, and ensure such developments are not unnecessarily delayed or caused to fail through abuse of the judicial process. To this end, this section shall be construed broadly.
(1)
(A) In all civil actions brought by any plaintiff to challenge the approval or permitting of a priority housing development project, including, but not limited to, actions brought pursuant to Section 21167 of the Public Resources Code, a defendant may bring a special motion to strike the whole or any part of a pleading. The court shall deny the motion to strike if it determines that the plaintiff has established that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.
(B) The court shall make its determination on the special motion to strike based on the pleadings, and supporting and opposing affidavits stating the facts upon which the liability or defense is based. Affidavits submitted with the pleadings may include a request for judicial notice of facts and documents relevant to the court's determination.
(C)
(i) If the court is unable to determine whether the plaintiff has established a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim without reviewing the administrative record in an action where the administrative record is required, the court shall make its determination on the special motion to strike based on the documents specified in subparagraph (B) and the administrative record, once prepared.
(ii) If the court determines that an administrative record is required for its decision, the moving party may, notwithstanding the 60-day filing requirement pursuant to paragraph (4) and without appealing an order denying a special motion to strike pursuant to paragraph (7), file the special motion to strike within 60 days of the service of the administrative record or, in the court's discretion, at any later time it deems proper.
(D) If the court determines that the plaintiff has established a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim, neither that determination nor the fact of that determination shall be admissible in evidence at any later stage of the case, or in any subsequent action, and no burden of proof or degree of proof otherwise applicable shall be affected by that determination in any later stage of the case or in any subsequent proceeding.
(2) In any action subject to paragraph (1), a prevailing defendant on a special motion to strike shall be entitled to recover that defendant's attorney's fees and costs. If the court finds that a special motion to strike is frivolous or is solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to a plaintiff prevailing on the motion, pursuant to Section 128.5.
(3) This subdivision does not apply to any enforcement action brought in the name of the people of the State of California by the Attorney General, district attorney, or city attorney, acting as a public prosecutor.
(4) The special motion may be filed within 60 days of the service of the complaint or, in the court's discretion, at any later time upon terms it deems proper. The motion shall be scheduled by the clerk of the court for a hearing not more than 30 days after the service of the motion unless the docket conditions of the court require a later hearing.
(5) All discovery proceedings in the action shall be stayed upon the filing of a notice of motion made pursuant to this section. The stay of discovery shall remain in effect until notice of entry of the order ruling on the motion. The court, on noticed motion and for good cause shown, may order that specified discovery be conducted notwithstanding this subdivision.
(6) For purposes of this section, "complaint" includes "cross-complaint" and "petition," "plaintiff" includes "cross-complainant" and "petitioner," and "defendant" includes "cross-defendant" and "respondent."
(7) An order granting or denying a special motion to strike is appealable under Section 904.1.
(c) "Priority housing development" means a development in which 100 percent of the units, exclusive of any manager's unit or units, will be reserved for lower income households, as defined in Section 50079.5 of the Health and Safety Code, for at least 55 years.
Section 425.19 is a purpose-built variation on the anti-SLAPP framework, aimed at a different target: lawsuits that challenge the approval or permitting of a priority housing development project, defined in subdivision (c) as a development in which all of the units (apart from any manager's units) are reserved for lower income households for at least 55 years. Subdivision (a) states the Legislature's finding that the lack of affordable housing is a critical problem and that these developments should not be unnecessarily delayed or defeated through abuse of the judicial process, directing that the section be construed broadly.
The mechanics track § 425.16 closely but flip the practical direction of the fight: a defendant in an action challenging a priority housing project's approval — including a challenge brought under Public Resources Code § 21167, the CEQA judicial-review provision — may bring a special motion to strike the whole or part of the pleading. The court must deny the motion if the plaintiff establishes a probability of prevailing, based on the pleadings, supporting and opposing affidavits, and, where the case requires review of an administrative record, that record once it is prepared. If the court needs the administrative record to decide the motion, subdivision (b)(1)(C) lets the moving party file the motion within 60 days after that record is served, rather than within 60 days of the complaint, and without triggering an appeal of a denial under paragraph (7) in the interim.
The rest of the section mirrors § 425.16's structure directly: a finding that the plaintiff met the probability-of-prevailing standard is inadmissible later and does not shift any burden of proof; a prevailing defendant recovers attorney's fees and costs, while a frivolous or delay-driven motion shifts fees to the plaintiff under § 128.5; enforcement actions brought by specified public prosecutors are exempt; the ordinary motion must be filed within 60 days of service of the complaint with a hearing set within 30 days; discovery is automatically stayed upon filing, subject to a good-cause exception; the defined terms extend to cross-complaints and cross-defendants; and an order granting or denying the motion is immediately appealable under § 904.1.
Added by Stats 2023 ch 779 (SB 439),s 1, eff. 1/1/2024.