What are Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)?
SLAPP is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, and encompasses any lawsuit filed to burden or punish the free exercise of one’s constitutional rights of free speech or petition for redress of grievances in connection with a public issue. The Legislature responded to this problem by promulgating the “anti-SLAPP” statute (codified as Code of Civil Procedure § 425.16). The typical SLAPP example involves citizens opposed to a particular real estate development that are sued for speaking out against it (see Dixon v. Superior Court (1994) 30 Cal.App.4th 733, 741), but SLAPPs are by no means limited to such cases. A lawsuit that meets the statutory definition of a SLAPP suit after an anti-SLAPP motion (or special motion to strike) is filed is subject to early dismissal and the mandatory payment of the moving defendant’s attorney’s fees and costs.
What we offer
ARC IP Law’s Ariel J. Sabban, Esq., is the firm’s resident specialist in anti-SLAPP motion practice and procedure, and has successfully represented numerous clients, both at the trial court level and on appeal, who have been sued in violation of California’s anti-SLAPP statute. We provide clients with the following:
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How to defend against a SLAPP suit;
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How to avoid filing a SLAPP suit; and
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How to collect on an award of anti-SLAPP attorney’s fees and costs.
Representative examples of SLAPP suits handled by Mr. Sabban can be viewed here.