FireAid Class Action Ended by Anti-SLAPP Motion

John is joined by Robert M. (“Bobby”) Schwartz, partner in Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office. They discuss the remarkable victory a Quinn Emanuel team led by Bobby won in the class action litigation against FireAid, the charitable effort organized to help victims of the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires.

While the fires were still burning, Steve Ballmer (owner of the LA Clippers NBA team) and his wife, Connie, helped organize benefit concerts at the Intuit Dome and the Forum and pledged to match contributions dollar for dollar up to $50 million. Working with Irving Azoff and Rick Caruso, the Ballmers raised more than $100 million for FireAid in less than two months. Foundations and nonprofit organizations were enlisted to identify recipients and distribute aid to affected communities.

Media reports later questioned whether the money was reaching fire victims and suggested that donations might have been diverted to unrelated causes. FireAid commissioned an independent investigation that found no wrongdoing. By the end of 2025, more than $75 million had been distributed, with the balance scheduled for distribution during 2026. Nevertheless, a class action lawsuit was filed against FireAid, the Ballmers, Mr. Azoff, Mr. Caruso, and others, alleging that donors had been misled, fire victims had not received promised assistance, and FireAid had actually raised $800 million, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars unaccounted for.

Rather than relying solely on a demurrer or challenging the class allegations, the defense brought an anti-SLAPP motion. SLAPP stands for “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.” An anti-SLAPP motion requires the defendant to prove that the actions the plaintiff’s claims are based on were protected by the First Amendment. Once a defendant makes that showing, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to produce admissible evidence establishing the prima facie elements of its claims. Here, the defendants’ theory was that soliciting charitable donations constituted protected speech on a matter of public interest and that the claims depended on allegedly false representations about how donations would be used.

The court granted the motion, finding that FireAid’s actions were protected free speech and that the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden. The defendants then sought attorney’s fees. Although the court initially proposed reducing fees because six defense firms participated, Quinn Emanuel persuaded the judge to award all of its requested hours. No appeal followed, ending the litigation. FireAid ultimately distributed more than $100 million for fire relief.