McFadden, Presiding Judge. Under the Georgia Electric Membership Corporation Act, OCGA § 46-3-170 et seq., customers of an electric membership corporation generally are members of the corporation with certain rights. OCGA §§ 46-3-260, 46-3-266. These two cases arise from a dispute among some members of the Grady Electric Membership Corporation (“Grady EMC”) and its management team. The dispute ended up in court, and the parties settled. Five months later, Thomas A. Rosser, Sr., the former president and general manager who resigned pursuant to the settlement agreement, filed a defamation lawsuit against four Grady EMC members who had formed a group called Take Back Our Grady EMC; a business with a Facebook page on which messages about Rosser were posted; and the local newspaper. In Case No. A18A0843, Rosser appeals the grant of the defendants’ motion to strike the defamation lawsuit under Georgia’s Anti-SLAPP (“strategic litigation against public participation”) statute, OCGA § 9-11-11.1. We hold that the trial court did not err in determining that the anti-SLAPP statute applies and that Rosser had not established that there is a probability that he would prevail on his claims. So we affirm the judgment.Case No. A18A0987 stems from a separate, but related, lawsuit. In that case, Grady EMC sued William Gordon Clyatt, one of the founders of Take Back Our Grady EMC. Grady EMC sought, among other things, to permanently enjoin Clyatt from publicly disclosing certain records obtained in the earlier, settled litigation. Clyatt appeals the trial court’s order granting injunctive relief. Because there is no evidence that Grady EMC would suffer an imminent and irreparable injury absent the permanent injunction, we reverse the grant of injunctive relief. We affirm the trial court’s other rulings.Case No. A18A0843.1. Background. rady EMC, like all EMCs, is a “private, nonprofit, electric utilit[y] owned by the members [it] serve[s].” Walker v. Oglethorpe Power Corp., 341 Ga. App. 647 (802 SE2d 643) (2017). See OCGA § 46-3-170 et seq. It has the exclusive right to furnish service within its service area. See Sawnee Elec. Membership Corp. v. Ga. Pub. Svc. Comm., 273 Ga. 702, 707 (544 SE2d 158) (2001). Grady EMC has more than 13,000 members.In 2014, Clyatt, a member of Grady EMC, began questioning some of management’s decisions, including, among other things, lending $468,000 to Rosser; hiring Rosser’s son as president and general manager of Grady EMC to succeed Rosser; and holding tens of millions of dollars in earnings instead of returning the money to the member-owners.In April 2014, Clyatt met with Grady EMC leadership to discuss his concerns, but he was not satisfied with their response. Clyatt purchased nine advertisements in the local newspaper, the Cairo Messenger, to publicize his concerns. Other members of Grady EMC contacted Clyatt, and ultimately a group of them, including Clyatt and defendants Ronald Sellars, Seaborn Roddenberry, and Jerome Ellis, formed a committee they called “Take Back Our Grady EMC.” In 2014, the group filed a lawsuit against Grady EMC, Rosser, his son, and other officers and directors. The parties resolved the litigation by entering a settlement agreement that, among other things, required Rosser to resign his employment and terminate any affiliation, other than as a member, with Grady EMC and its entities, and required the formation of a special committee to evaluate the claims of Take Back Our Grady EMC and advise the board. As a result, the trial court entered a consent order dismissing the case with prejudice on May 24, 2016.Five months after the dismissal of the 2014 lawsuit, Rosser filed this action, alleging that certain statements written by Clyatt were defamatory. He sued Clyatt, Sellars, Roddenberry, Ellis, Jane and John Doe defendants, Deep South Coins and Jewelry, Inc., which is owned by Clyatt and whose Facebook page included statements about Rosser, and the Messenger Publishing Company, the publisher of the local newspaper, the Cairo Messenger, which published Clyatt’s and Take Back Our Grady’s paid advertisements about Rosser. The defendants answered the complaint and moved to strike it under OCGA § 9-11-11.1, Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute. The trial court granted the motions to strike and Rosser filed this appeal.2. The anti-SLAPP statute applies. Rosser argues that the trial court erred by striking his lawsuit under OCGA § 9-11-11.1 because the anti-SLAPP statute does not apply. We disagree.(a) The two-step framework.OCGA § 9-11-11.1 is intended to protect persons exercising their constitutional rights of petition and freedom of speech. See OCGA § 91111.1 (a). To accomplish this goal, the statute is to be construed broadly. Id.First enacted in 1996, the statute was significantly revised effective July 1, 2016. Neff v. McGee, 346 Ga. App. 522, 524 n. 2 (816 SE2d 486) (2018). The revised statute applies to this case even though some of the allegedly defamatory statements were made prior to July 1, 2016. See generally Crane Composites v. Wayne Farms, LLC, 296 Ga. 271, 273 (765 SE2d 921) (2014) (“[B]ecause the rights created by the statute pertain to the conduct of litigation, the statute is acting prospectively, not retroactively, when applied to litigation commenced after the effective date.”). See also Atlanta Humane Society v. Harkins, 278 Ga. 451, 454 (1) (603 SE2d 289) (2004). The revision did three things. It expanded the scope of protected speech to include any conduct that reasonably could be construed as conduct related to “a matter of public concern in furtherance of the right to petition, not just to speech connected to an official proceeding (subsection (c) (4))[.]” Neff, 246 Ga. App. at 524 n. 2. The only speech protected under the former version of the statute was speech connected to an official proceeding. See Emory Univ. v. Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, 320 Ga. App. 442, 444-445 (1) (740 SE2d 219) (2013).The revision “replaced the plaintiff’s complaint verification requirement with a probability-of-success standard (subsection (b) (1))[.]” Id. And it “ provided a right of direct appeal from the grant or denial of a motion to dismiss under the statute (subsection (e)).” Id. The statute now provides:A claim for relief against a person or entity arising from any act of such person or entity which could reasonably be construed as an act in furtherance of the person’s or entity’s right of petition or free speech under the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of the State of Georgia in connection with an issue of public interest or concern shall be subject to a motion to strike unless the court determines that the nonmoving party has established that there is a probability that the nonmoving party will prevail on the claim.
OCGA § 91111.1 (b) (1). The application of the statute “involves a twostep process for determining whether a claim is subject to being stricken. In the first step, the defendant bringing an antiSLAPP motion to [strike] must make a prima facie showing that the plaintiff’s suit is subject to OCGA § 91111.1. . . .” Neff, 346 Ga. App. at 524-525. The defendant does this by showing that the defendant’s challenged acts could reasonably be construed as acts taken in furtherance of his or her constitutional rights of petition or free speech in connection with an issue of public concern as defined by the statute. OCGA § 91111.1 (b) (1).“The burden then shifts to the plaintiff to demonstrate that there is a ‘probability’ that [he] will prevail on [his] claims at trial. OCGA § 91111.1 (b) (1).” Neff, 346 Ga. App. at 525. Unlike the former versions of the anti-SLAPP statute (where a motion to strike was a remedy for a failure to comply with the statute’s procedural verification requirement), the current version of the statute contemplates a substantive, evidentiary determination of the plaintiff’s probability of prevailing on his claims. It directs the court to “consider . . . supporting and opposing affidavits” and it provides for “discovery on the sole issue of actual malice,” should there be a claim that the plaintiff is a public figure. OCGA § 9-11-11.1 (b) (2). See also Carbone v. CNN, No. 1:16CV1720ODE, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 216286, at *7 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 14, 2017) (“The statute essentially creates a Rule 12 (b) (6) ‘plus’ standard for cases with a First Amendment nexus.”).(b) The statute applies. Rosser argues that the anti-SLAPP statute does not protect the defendants here because, contrary to the trial court’s finding, the allegedly defamatory statements were not made “in connection with an issue of public interest or concern.” He adds that to the extent the statements did relate to a matter of public interest, that was only because the statements themselves created public interest; when the statements were published in June, July, and August 2016, there was no public controversy because the 2014 lawsuit had been settled. We agree with the trial court that the statements “could reasonably be construed as” having been made “in connection with an issue of . . . public concern,” see OCGA § 9-11-11.1 (b) (1), the management and operation of Grady EMC, including the upcoming election of members of the board of directors. “[I]t is evident that resolution of the controversy [would] affect people who do not directly participate in it, [the more than 13,000 members of Grady EMC, so] the controversy is more than merely newsworthy and is of legitimate public concern.” Gettner v. Fitzgerald, 297 Ga. App. 258, 263 (1) (c) (i) (677 SE2d 149) (2009) (citation omitted) (defamation case). See also Buckley v. Directv, Inc., 276 FSupp2d 1271, 1275 (N.D. Ga. 2003) (“Any action involving such a large number of people is, by definition, a matter of public interest and concern.”). According to the owner, editor, and publisher of the Cairo Messenger, the criticisms of the management of Grady EMC “had generated . . . a public discussion” because Grady EMC is a “major employer” in the community and a “major factor in everyday life, being the utility.” See Mathis v. Cannon, 276 Ga. 16, 20-21 (573 SE2d 376) (2002) (local controversy concerning the unprofitable operation of a solid waste recovery facility in Crisp County was a matter of public concern).We reject Rosser’s argument that because the earlier lawsuit had been settled the matter was no longer a public concern. Under the settlement, Rosser and the other defendants did not admit liability. And the settlement agreement required the formation of a committee to study many of the issues Clyatt had questioned, including whether Grady EMC’s patronage-capital policy (under which earnings are returned to members) should be modified; whether bylaws should be modified; and whether Grady EMC’s policies regarding issuing company vehicles should be modified. The agreement required the committee to present its report to the board of directors and to Clyatt and the other plaintiffs by September 2016. In other words, some of the issues raised in the lawsuit had not been resolved. Morever, separate and apart from the settlement, the defendants (or at least some of them) sought to replace two members of the board of directors at an upcoming board election. The allegedly defamatory statements were made to further that goal. For example, in one of the advertisements published on July 13, 2016, in the Cairo Messenger, Take Back Our Grady EMC wrote that the board members had “failed this membership and it’s time they were replaced”; that the committee was “dedicated to ending the reign of three generations of the Rossers as well as the present board that has allowed corruption to plague our Grady EMC”; and that the committee “will not rest until the Rossers and the present board of directors are gone.” Another advertisement listed the changes the group wanted the board to make. Indeed, Rosser admits in his appellate brief that the statements were made “with the hopes that [they] would affect the election of the Grady EMC Board of Directors.”Finally, indicating that the matter was still of public concern, on June 8, 2016, after the settlement and some of the allegedly defamatory statements had been made, the Cairo Messenger published a letter to the editor from the Grady EMC board itself. In the letter, the board expressed disappointment with Clyatt for continuing with his criticisms after the settlement of the lawsuit, voiced support for the leadership of Rosser and his son who succeeded him, and suggested that it was “time to move on.” The trial court did not err in finding that the defendants met their burden of making a prima facie showing that the statements reasonably could be construed as acts in furtherance of their constitutional rights in connection with an issue of public concern. OCGA § 9-11-11.1 (b) (1).3. The trial court did not err in determining that Rosser had not established that there is a probability that he will prevail on his claims.Rosser argues that the trial court erred in striking his lawsuit without determining whether there was a probability that he would prevail on his claims. See OCGA § 9-11-11.1 (b) (1). The trial court did make such a determination, albeit implicitly, holding that “the complained-of [s]tatements were merely statements which reflect an opinion or subjective assessment as to which reasonable minds could differ which cannot be proved false.” This necessarily implies that the trial court determined that there was not a probability that Rosser would prevail on his claims. Rosser then argues that, to the extent the trial court did make such a determination, the court erred. We disagree. We cannot say that the trial court erred in determining, based on the undisputed material facts, that Rosser had not satisfied his burden of demonstrating that there is a probability that he will prevail on his claims. OCGA § 9-11-1.1 (b). As detailed below, some of the allegedly defamatory statements are opinion that cannot be proven true or false, so they are not actionable. And the non-opinion statements are not actionable because Rosser is a limited-purpose public figure and he has not established that there is a probability that he will prevail by pointing to clear and convincing evidence that the defendants published the statements with actual malice. So the trial court did not err in determining that Rosser has not shown a probability that he will succeed on his claims, and the trial court did not err in granting the defendants’ motions to strike.(a) The statements at issue.In his brief, Rosser argues about the following allegedly defamatory statements contained in his complaint, all of which were written by Clyatt:[Rosser] has stolen from the EMC for years. There are many ways to steal.
