A “SLAPP” (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is a legal term to describe a particular type of groundless lawsuit that is usually filed by a powerful individual or entity with the goal of silencing speech critical of the individual or entity. We helped draft a law, the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act, to protect speakers from groundless lawsuits by giving the speakers a procedure to obtain early dismissal of SLAPP suits. Under the new law, a suit is a SLAPP, and subject to early dismissal, if “the claim at issue arises from an act in furtherance of the right of advocacy on issues of public interest . . . unless the [plaintiff] demonstrates that the claim is likely to succeed on the merits.”
In January 2011, Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder sued the Washington City Paper and its sports reporter in D.C. Superior Court, alleging that a November 2010 cover story titled The Cranky Redskins Fan’s Guide to Dan Snyder had defamed him. We thought this presented an opportunity to educate the courts about SLAPPs and why the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act should be vigorously applied.
We filed an amicus brief, on behalf of ourselves, D.C. Councilmembers Phil Mendelson and Mary Cheh, National Public Radio, WUSA-TV, Politico, and twelve other organizations, supporting defendants’ motion to dismiss the case under the Anti-SLAPP Act. Before the court ruled, and on the eve of the NFL season’s opening game, Mr. Snyder dismissed his lawsuit.