DC Appeals Court Says Anti-SLAPP Laws Shouldn't Apply In Federal Courts
from the ruh-roh dept
We've discussed for quite some time the importance of anti-SLAPP laws, and how it's ridiculous that we don't have a federal anti-SLAPP law. Once again, anti-SLAPP laws are used to toss out bogus lawsuits that were clearly filed for the sake of silencing someone's speech (SLAPP stands for "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation"). Right now only some states have them, and there are many variations in the various state laws, with some much better than others. Unfortunately, a new ruling in the DC Circuit appeals court may makestate anti-SLAPP laws much less effective. That's because it says, more or less, that state anti-SLAPP laws only apply to cases in state/local courts, and not those that are in federal court (such as any case between two parties in different states).Under the Federal Rules, a plaintiff is generally entitled to trial if he or she meets the Rules 12 and 56 standards to overcome a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment. But the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act nullifies that entitlement in certain cases. Under the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act, the plaintiff is not able to get to trial just by meeting those Rules 12 and 56 standards. The D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act, in other words, conflicts with the Federal Rules by setting up an additional hurdle a plaintiff must jump over to get to trial.In other words, in the DC Circuit, this finding says that as long as the dispute is between two parties in different jurisdictions, the anti-SLAPP law is basically toothless. Its reasoning is that Federal Rules of Civil Procedure list out the processes under which a court can dismiss a claim before a trial, and it doesn't include the same process as the anti-SLAPP process. And thus, the Federal Rules effectively overrule any local anti-SLAPP law in federal court.
As Paul Levy notes in the link above, this finding goes against findings in the First, Fifth and Ninth Circuits and creates a circuit split that he hopes will be appealed to the Supreme Court (even though the appeals court eventually did dismiss the case on other grounds).
Either way, this really (once again) reinforces the absolute need for a strong federal anti-SLAPP law. Not only would it solve messes like this, but it would protect free speech rights across the country, rather than allowing some states to protect them, while others allow people to be silenced via bogus lawsuits.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: anti-slapp, circuit split, dc circuit, diversity, federal courts, free speech
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Popehat lawsplainer
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Popehat lawsplainer
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Too many lawyers
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Too many lawyers
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Too many lawyers
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Seems like a no-brainer for an up and coming congressperson
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Seems like a no-brainer for an up and coming congressperson
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Interpretation
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Interpretation
On the one hand, I can sorta see their point, but at the same time, the entire point of anti-SLAPP laws is to defang the threat of a lawsuit when using it to threaten or retaliate against someone, something which regular procedure with regards to the how and when when it comes to lawsuits lack(which are the entire purpose SLAPP lawsuits are so effective, because even if they are completely bogus, 'regular' rules don't allow someone to get out from under them without paying dearly in the process).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Interpretation
you are reading it right.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]