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Horvitz & Levy successfully represented State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and its attorneys on appeal in an abuse of process case. State Farm had sued chiropractic clinic owners seeking disgorgement of fees for medical services to State Farm insureds. The basis for the lawsuit was that the clinics were owned in part by lay persons, which is prohibited by state law. The clinics cross-complained for abuse of process claiming that State Farm had improperly learned about the clinics’ illegal ownership structure during depositions questioning in an earlier proceeding. The trial court granted State Farm’s anti-SLAPP motion. The California Court of Appeal (Third Appellate District) affirmed, holding that the abuse of process claim was properly dismissed because State Farm used lawful deposition procedures in the earlier case which cannot form the basis for an abuse of process claim, and in any event, the questions regarding illegal clinic ownership were relevant to the underlying case because there was a dispute over the validity of the medical bills submitted by the clinics.