Allegedly defamatory emails that Simplified sent Trinity and a co-defendant seeking documents and other information for its later-filed lawsuit were protected activity for purposes of the Anti-SLAPP statute (CCP 425.16(e)). The emails were also protected by the absolute litigation privilege, so Trinity could not prove a probability of success on the merits. The trial court properly granted Simplified’s Anti-SLAPP motion to strike and awarded it $25,000 in attorney fees. The fact that Trinity had orally volunteered to dismiss its defamation claim without prejudice before the motion was filed didn’t shield it from the fee award or render Simplified’s motion improper as Trinity took no step to dismiss the claim and Simplified waited until the last possible day to file its Anti-SLAPP motion.