Filed Washington State Court of Appeals Division Two March 12, 2019 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION II LISA LITTLETON, No. 51217-3-II Respondent, UNPUBLISHED OPINION v. TERRY GROVER, Appellant. BJORGEN, J.P.T.* — Terry Grover appeals from the superior court’s order affirming an anti-harassment protection order issued by the district court in favor of Lisa Littleton. He argues that (1) the district court erred in granting the order because it improperly found unlawful harassment and (2) the order was an unconstitutional prior restraint on his free speech rights. Littleton argues the case is moot because the order has expired. Grover counters that the case is not moot because we can still provide effective relief. We hold that (1) the appeal is not moot, (2) the district court did not err in ruling that Grover engaged in unlawful harassment under the statute, (3) the order was not an unconstitutional prior restraint, and (4) certain elements of the order were not narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest and thus fail the applicable strict scrutiny test. Therefore, we hold that the conditions failing strict scrutiny are invalid. We otherwise affirm the order. * Judge Bjorgen is serving as a judge pro tempore for the Court of Appeals, pursuant to RCW RCW 2.06.150. No. 51217-3-II FACTS Grover is the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of The Government Procurement Store Inc., also known as Global GPS. Global GPS owns the registered trademark name, EnviroLux. Littleton is the president of Twice the Light (TTL), a lighting sales and installation business. The two companies entered into a licensing agreement allowing TTL to use the trademark name EnviroLux and stating that Global GPS was not to be responsible for warranty claims related to EnviroLux.1 This business relationship collapsed, culminating in a June 29, 2015 e-mail from Grover to Littleton titled “Defcon 1” (Defcon 1 e-mail). The Defcon 1 e-mail included copies of two private e-mails Littleton had sent to third parties, including one she had sent to her attorney. In that e-mail, Grover stated that he had “copies of all [Littleton’s] Internal emails since day 1” and that “[a]ll emails are on flash drives in 2 separate safety deposit boxes, addressed to 11 different individuals, including the bank, in case I get hit by a bus.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 352. Grover also threatened, “I have many other emails that would reflect badly if put in wrong hands.” CP at 354. At the end of the e-mail Grover stated, “I just want to move on.” CP at 354. This was the last communication Grover directly had with Littleton. On August 4, 2015, TTL’s attorney sent EnviroLux a cease and desist letter threatening legal action and demanding, among other things, that EnviroLux not access TTL’s communications or make any comments to any third party regarding TTL’s products and manufacturing standards. A month later, EnviroLux sent a response letter describing TTL’s alleged contract breaches and EnviroLux’s related losses. It was around this ...
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