Sec. 47 Privileged publication or broadcast

A privileged publication or broadcast is one made:

(a) In the proper discharge of an official duty.

(b) In any (1) legislative proceeding, (2) judicial proceeding, (3) in any other official proceeding authorized by law, or (4) in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law and reviewable pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except as follows:

(1) An allegation or averment contained in any pleading or affidavit filed in an action for marital dissolution or legal separation made of or concerning a person by or against whom no affirmative relief is prayed in the action shall not be a privileged publication or broadcast as to the person making the allegation or averment within the meaning of this section unless the pleading is verified or affidavit sworn to, and is made without malice, by one having reasonable and probable cause for believing the truth of the allegation or averment and unless the allegation or averment is material and relevant to the issues in the action.

(2) This subdivision does not make privileged any communication made in furtherance of an act of intentional destruction or alteration of physical evidence undertaken for the purpose of depriving a party to litigation of the use of that evidence, whether or not the content of the communication is the subject of a subsequent publication or broadcast which is privileged pursuant to this section. As used in this paragraph, "physical evidence" means evidence specified in Section 250 of the Evidence Code or evidence that is property of any type specified in Section 2031 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(3) This subdivision does not make privileged any communication made in a judicial proceeding knowingly concealing the existence of an insurance policy or policies.

(4) A recorded lis pendens is not a privileged publication unless it identifies an action previously filed with a court of competent jurisdiction which affects the title or right of possession of real property, as authorized or required by law.

(d) (1) By a fair and true report in, or a communication to, a public journal, of (A) a judicial, (B) legislative, or (C) other public official proceeding, or (D) of anything said in the course thereof, or (E) of a verified charge or complaint made by any person to a public official, upon which complaint a warrant has been issued.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall make privileged any communication to a public journal that does any of the following:

(A) Violates Rule 5-120 of the State Bar Rules of Professional Conduct.

(B) Breaches a court order.

(C) Violates any requirement of confidentiality imposed by law.

The absolute privilege covers communications made before the official proceeding (such as a lawsuit or a government investigation) actually begins. (Rubin, supra, 4 Cal. 4th at 1194-95; Martin v. Kearney (1975) 50 Cal.App.3d 309, 311 [124 Cal.Rptr. 281].)

This absolute privilege even protects communications or activities done with malice. (Pettitt v. Levy (1972) 28 Cal.App.3d 484, 488 [104 Cal.Rptr. 650]; Kachig v. Boothe (1971) 22 Cal.App.3d 626, 641 [99 Cal.Rptr. 393].)

Application of immunity to complaints and information about physicians, surgeons or podiatrists: CC sec. 43.96.

When malice not inferred from communication: CC sec. 48.

Applicability of official proceedings privilege to disclosure of trade secret information: CC sec. 3426.11.

Complaint and proof in libel or slander action: CCP sec. 460.

Answer and evidence in actions for slander or libel: CCP sec. 461.

Immunity of arbitrators from civil liability: CCP sec. 1280.1.

Enacted 1872. Amended Code Amdts 1873-74 ch. 612 s. 11; Stats 1985 ch. 163 s. 1; Stats 1927 ch. 866 s. 1; Stats 1945 ch. 1489 s. 3; Stats 1979 ch. 184 s. 1.

Amended Stats 1990 ch. 1491 s. 1 (AB 3765); Stats 1991 ch. 432 s. 1 (AB 529); Stats 1992 ch. 615 s. 1 (SB 1804); Stats 1994 ch. 364 s. 1 (AB 2778), ch. 700 s. 2.5 (SB 1457); Stats 1996 ch. 1055 s. 2 (SB 1540).

1873-74 Amendment: Amended the section to read:

"A privileged publication is one made:
"One--In the proper discharge of an official duty.
"Two--In any legislative or judicial proceeding, or in any other official proceeding authorized by law.
"Three--In a communication, without malice, to a person interest therein, by one who is also interested, or by one who stands in such a relation to the person interested as to afford a reasonable ground for supposing the motive for the communication innocent, or who is requested by the person interested to give the information.
"Four--By a fair and true report, without malice, of a judicial, legislative, or other public official proceeding, or of anything said in the course thereof."

Prior to 1873-74 the section read:

"A privileged publication is one made:
"1. In the proper discharge of an official duty;
"2. In testifying as a witness in any proceeding authorized by law to a matter pertinent and material, or in reply to a question allowed by the tribunal.
"3. In a communication, without malice, to a person interested therein, by one who was also interested, or who stood in such a relation to the former as to afford a reasonable ground for supposing his motive innocent, or who was requested by him to give the information;
"4. By a fair and true report in a newspaper, without malice, of a judicial, legislative, or other public official proceeding, or of anything said in the course thereof."

1895 Amendment: Added (1) "in a public journal" after "without malice" in subd 4; (2) added "or of a verified charge or complaint made by any person to a public official, upon which complaint a warrant shall have been issued" at the end of subd 4; and (3) amended subd 5 to read:

"5. By a fair and true report, without malice, of the proceedings of a public meeting, if such meeting was lawfully convened for a lawful purpose and open to the public, or the publication of the matter complained of was for the public benefit."

1927 Amendment: Added (1) subdivision designations (1)-(3) in subds 2 and 3, (1)-(5) in subd 4, and (1) and (2) in subd 5; and (2) the proviso at the end of subd 2.

1945 Amendment: (1) Added "or broadcast" after "privileged publication" in subd 2; and (2) deleted "without malice" after "By a fair and true report" at the beginning of subds 4 and 5.

1979 Amendment: Added ", or (4) in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law and reviewable pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1084) of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure" in subd 2.

1990 Amendment: In addition to making technical changes, (1)redesignated former subds (1)-(5) to be subds (a)-(e); and (2)substituted "marital dissolution or legal separation" for "divorce or an action prosecuted under Section 137 of this code" after "an action for" in subd (b).

1991 Amendment: Amended subd (b) by (1) substituting ", except as follows: (1)" for "; provided, that"; and (2) adding subd (b)(2).

1992 Amendment: Added subd (b)(3).

1994 Amendment: (1) Amended the introductory clause of subd (b) by (a) substituting the comma for "or" after "legislative proceeding"; and (b) deleting "or" after "judicial proceeding,"; (2) added subd (b)(3); (3) redesignated former subd (b)(3) to be subd (b)(4); and (4) added the second and third sentences of subd (c). (As amended Stats 1994 ch 700, compared to the section as it read prior to 1994. This section was also amended by an earlier chapter, ch 364. See Gov C sec. 9605.)

Stats 1994 ch 700 provides:

SEC. 1. It is the intent of the Legislature in amending Section 47 of the Civil Code to overturn the decision in California Dredging Company v. Insurance Company of North America, 18 Cal. App. 4th 572.

1996 Amendment: (1) Added "or" after "is also interested," in the first sentence of subd (c); (2) amended subd (d) by (a) adding subdivision designation (d)(1); (b) adding ", or a communication to,"; (c) redesignating former subds (d)(1)-(d)(5) to be subds (d)(A)-(d)(E); and (d) adding subd (d)(2).

Stats 1996 ch 1055 provides:

SEC. 1. In amending Section 47 of the Civil Code by this act, it is the intent of the Legislature to abrogate the decision in Shahvar v. Superior Court (1994), 25 Cal. App. 4th 653, to preserve the scarce resources of California's courts, to avoid using the courts for satellite litigation, and to increase public participation in the political, legislative, and judicial processes. It is not the intent of the Legislature to limit in any manner the application of subdivision (b) or (d) of Section 47 of the Civil Code. Specifically, it is not the intent of the Legislature to affect case law holding that certain prelitigation statements are privileged as described in, for example, Lerette v. Dean Witter Organization, Inc., 60 Cal. App. 3d 573; Martin v. Kearney, 51 Cal. App. 3d 309; Ascherman v. Natanson, 23 Cal. App. 3d 861; and the Second Restatement of Torts, Section 586.