An out-of-state defendant has failed to persuade a California appellate court that he shouldn’t be hauled into the state’s courts to face claims that he sent anonymous social media messages and fabricated direct messages and text conversations in attempts to undermine a distant relative’s relationship.

The Fourth District Court of Appeal on Thursday found that California courts had specific personal jurisdiction over Michigan resident Yousef Zehia, who denied making allegedly defamatory statements about Nicholas Nadhir, a California resident who had been arranged to meet Zehia’s relative.