Tag Archives: opinion
Foreign Officials, Defamation Claims and the DC anti-SLAPP Statute
For the third time in the past five years, a court has applied the DC anti-SLAPP statute to dismiss a defamation suit brought by a foreign official.
Doctor’s Slapp at Yelp Reviewer Largely Dismissed by DC Superior Court
Yelp, and websites like it, have certainly added to the development of law in the First Amendment area. The Virginia Supreme Court is poised to decide the standard for unmasking anonymous commentators on websites like Yelp. Last month, a Texas law firm filed a defamation suit against a former client over his Yelp review; stay tuned for the likely anti-SPAPP motion there. Which brings us to Dr. Akl and his former patient, John Kandrac. Kandrac visited Alk’s Washington Travel Clinic, and had a poor experience. He posted a review to Yelp in which he gave Akl one star (out of …
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Farah v. Esquire: a Primer
I have previously blogged about the panel that will be hearing the Farah v. Esquire appeal on October 3. Here’s a brief summary on the relevant background facts, the proceedings in the district court and the pertinent issues on appeal.
DC Superior Court Holds That Mann Suit Survives anti-SLAPP Motions
Holding that Michael Mann had shown enough to overcome anti-SLAPP motions filed by the National Review and Competitive Enterprise Institute, the DC Superior Court denied those motions in twin opinions issued last week. (For prior posts on the Mann suit, see here, and here). The Court’s opinions (here and here) first find that the anti-SLAPP act applies to the challenged statements because they: were made with respect to climate issues, which are environmental issues, thus an issue of public interest. In addition, the comments were made in publications (blogs, columns and articles) that were published to the public (available on …
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What’s the Standard?
When I wrote about the DC Superior Court’s decision in Payne v. District of Columbia last month, and about the federal court’s decision in Boley v. Atlantic Monthly Group last week, I mentioned how both courts applied California’s standard of review, which was notable because parties in DC have sparred over the applicable standard. Well, those two decisions have not gone unnoticed by the parties in Mann v. National Review, Inc. – one of the high profile cases under the anti-SLAPP statute that is pending in DC Superior Court (see prior posts on the suit here and here).
Superior Court Judge Grants District of Columbia’s anti-SLAPP Motion against Former Employee
Last week, another DC Superior Court judge granted an anti-SLAPP motion. This motion was filed by the District of Columbia in response to a defamation/related torts lawsuit brought by a former employee: Eric Payne. (For prior discussions on this suit, see this post discussing the DC opening brief; this post discussing Payne’s opposition brief; and this post discussing DC’s reply brief). You can also find news stories about the lawsuit here and here, and an editorial that is critical of DC’s anti-SLAPP motion here). This is the second anti-SLAPP motion that has been granted by a DC Superior Court judge, …
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