‘Weed 9’ Water Activists Present Legal Claim Against Sacramento Law Firm for Filing Malicious Lawsuit Aimed at Silencing Free Speech
April 30, 2020
The Weed, California, community members claim Churchwell White LLP knowingly filed meritless and illegal SLAPP suit against them on behalf of Roseburg Forest Products. Eugene, OR, April 29, 2020 — Protect the Protest task force member Civil Liberties Defense Center (CLDC) filed a lawsuit in the Siskiyou County Superior Court of… Read More
Read More
29 Nobel Laureates Demand Freedom for Human Rights Lawyer Steven Donziger
April 16, 2020
Alec Baldwin, Roger Waters, and other activists join Nobel laureates in their demand that Chevron clean up its pollution, pay court-ordered compensation, and cease the persecution of Donziger. Press Conference: 29 Nobel Laureates Demand Freedom for Human Rights Lawyer Steven Donziger Background Information Chevron, operating as Texaco,… Read More
Read More
Case Update: Despite Retreat from City of Weed, ‘Weed 9’ Remain Resolute in Fight Against SLAPP
August 12, 2019
On August 11, Water for Citizens of Weed, California (WCWC) issued a press release announcing that the City of Weed ended its legal battle with Roseburg Forest Products and has conceded the rights to the Beaughan Springs, the main source of clean drinking water in the area. The City… Read More
Read More
Civil Liberties Defense Center to Represent Environmental and Human Rights Lawyer Steven Donziger
May 18, 2020
Contact: Lauren Regan, CLDC(541) 687-9180 On May 15, 2020, Civil Liberties Defense Center’s (CLDC) Executive Director & Senior Staff Attorney, Lauren Regan, officially joined Steven Donziger’s legal team as a lead trial attorney. In addition to Regan and former New York federal prosecutor Andrew Frisch, the team now includes nationally… Read More
Read More
Critical Free Speech Protections Are Under Attack in Texas
March 18, 2019
Joe Mullin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) discusses an effort to weaken Texans’ right to free speech by gutting the state’s anti-SLAPP law. The article was originally published on EFF’s website and is reprinted here with permission. ——– A bill introduced in Texas threatens the free… Read More
Read More
Energy Transfer Partners and Kasowitz Law Firm SLAPP Against Environmental Organizations
August 10, 2018
In August, 2017 Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) – which is building the Dakota Access Pipeline – filed a USD$900 million lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota alleging violations of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and other claims against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace,…
Read More
ExxonMobil SLAPP Against Climate Change Activists
August 28, 2018
In November 2016, ExxonMobil subpoenaed over ten environmental organizations and individuals, as part of an effort to intimidate and chill the First Amendments rights of climate change activists. EarthRights International represents one of these activists, Carroll Muffett, the president of the Center for International Environmental Law.
Read More
Forestry Company Faces Challenge to Its “Responsible Timber” Certification After Waging Intimidation Campaign Against Local Community
February 27, 2019
WEED, CALIFORNIA – Citizens of Weed, California filed a complaint today with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) after Oregon-based Roseburg Forest Products refused to stop its abusive tactics in a bid to privatize the community’s main source of drinking water. The complaint alleges that Roseburg,… Read More
Read More
Green Group Holdings SLAPP Against Community Activists
August 10, 2018
The ACLU represented community activists in Uniontown, Alabama who were sued for defamation when they expressed opposition to the dumping of hazardous coal ash in a landfill in their town. The landfill operator, Green Group Holdings, sued the residents for $30 million. In February 2017, the parties reached a settlement in…
Read More
Lawmakers Attempt to Open the Door for “Ag Gag” SLAPPs
December 31, 2017
Since 2012, at least 18 states have attempted to pass “ag gag” laws that prohibit undercover investigations and whistleblowing in animal agricultural facilities. In this article, the Center for Constitutional Rights(CCR) describes the amicus briefs it has submitted in cases challenging Idaho’s and Utah’s ag-gag laws. This report by the…
Read More
New Case Alert: North Carolina Parent Sued by Curriculum Company
September 25, 2019
PRESS RELEASE Blain Dillard is a parent of three sons living in Cary, NC, which is served by the Wake County Public School System. On Saturday, July 27th, 2019, he was served a summons documenting a lawsuit filed on behalf of Mathematics Vision Project, LLC (MVP), a curriculum vendor in… Read More
Read More
New York Times Feature: Maggy Hurchalla, Florida Environmental Activist, Continues SLAPP Fight Despite Recent Loss
September 18, 2019
In a recent New York Times article, Florida environmental activist Maggy Hurchalla discussed the ongoing SLAPP suit that was brought against her by Florida mining Company, Lake Point Restoration. Read More
Read More
Resolute Forest Products and Kasowitz Law Firm SLAPP Against Environmental Organizations
August 28, 2018
On May 31, 2016 Resolute Forest Products filed a $300 million (CAD – Canadian dollars) lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and other claims against Greenpeace International, Greenpeace, Inc., Greenpeace Fund, Inc.,…
Read More
Student Surveillance Vendor Proctorio Files SLAPP Lawsuit to Silence A Critic
March 08, 2021
Originally posted on the EFF website. Reposted with permission. During the pandemic, a dangerous business has prospered: invading students’ privacy with proctoring software and apps. In the last year, we’ve seen universities compel students to download apps that collect their face images, driver’s license data, and network information. Students… Read More
Read More
The Dakota Access Pipeline Company Is Abusing the Judicial System to Silence Dissent
March 04, 2019
The ACLU discusses how pipeline company Energy Transfer is abusing the judicial system in order to suppress the rights of activists. The article is available on the ACLU’s website and is re-posted here with permission. In a win for free speech, a federal court in North Dakota recently… Read More
Read More
The First Annual SLAPP Awards 2018
February 25, 2019
Last year was a busy year for corporate bullies in the US. It seems nowadays that a corporation or high-ranking businessman can’t even engage in a light spot of environmental destruction, harassment, or treason without some pesky activist or journalist getting in the way. Corporate bullies have increasingly… Read More
Read More
Tongue-in-cheek ‘SLAPP Awards’ celebrate the corporations, lawyers using courts to silence free speech
February 25, 2019
The Protect the Protest task force announces first-annual accolades for biggest legal bullies and shadiest lawyers of the year to coincide with the Academy Awards. PRESS RELEASE For immediate release: February, 25, 2019 Washington, DC — Last year was a banner year… Read More
Read More
Too Far, Too Often: Energy Transfer Partners’ Corporate Behavior On Human Rights, Free Speech, and the Environment
June 30, 2018
In June 2018, Greenpeace US published a report documenting the tactics used by Energy Transfer Partners – developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline – to intimidate and silence opponents of the project. This includes SLAPPs against Greenpeace and other activists involved in the campaign against the pipeline.
Read More
Where Protests Flourish, Anti-Protest Laws Follow
February 17, 2017
This article by the ACLU describes efforts by state legislatures to pass laws (which are unconstitutional) to curb protests.
Read More
The Term “Eco-Terrorist” is Being Used to Harass Activists
January 03, 2019
In an article for Grist, Justine Calma and Paola Rosa-Aquino discuss a 1990s tactic that is growing in popularity once again: labeling activists as “eco-terrorists.” Across the world, we are witnessing growing efforts by governments and corporations to silence environmental activists. According to Calma and Rosa-Aquino, “The consequences of… Read More
Read More
Pipeline Protester Fights Back Against Corporation’s Sprawling, Outlandish Lawsuit
December 21, 2018
BISMARCK, ND — Krystal Two Bulls, an Oglala Lakota and Northern Cheyenne U.S. army veteran and environmental and Indigenous rights activist, today urged a federal court to dismiss a racketeering lawsuit filed against her for her role in standing for land, water, and her People against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Read More
Read More
The ‘Weed 9’ Rallies Against Corporate Water Grab and Legal Bullying
December 18, 2018
SPRINGFIELD, OREGON – Residents of Weed, California are rallying today outside the headquarters of Roseburg Forest Products to demand that the Springfield-based company cease its aggressive campaign to deprive them of their clean drinking water. Over 20 residents of Weed made the five hour journey to… Read More
Read More
Activists Defeat SLAPP Brought By Company With White Supremacist Ties
December 04, 2018
On November 30, 2018, San Francisco’s Superior Court issued an order granting anonymous antifascists’ motion to quash a subpoena that sought to uncover the identities of the antifascists. Civil Liberties Defense Center attorney Cooper Brinson urged the court to uphold the First Amendment rights of the antifascists to engage in anonymous… Read More
Read More
Energy Transfer Continues Aggressive Attempts to Silence Opposition: Greenpeace Report
October 18, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC, October 18, 2018 — A new Greenpeace USA report “Still Too Far: Energy Transfer Continues to Display Concerning Corporate Behavior” compiles recent evidence that the pipeline company is still aggressively trying to silence opposition to its pipelines across the United States, despite calls from communities, financial institutions,… Read More
Read More
Judge Slams Pipeline Corporation for Frivolous Legal Claims Against Activists
August 03, 2018
On August 3, 2018, a federal court blocked Energy Transfer Partners, developer of the Dakota Access Pipeline, from continuing a SLAPP against the Earth First! Movement. The court rejected the company’s allegations as factually unsupported. Read More
Read More
Court Dismisses Frivolous and “Dangerously Broad” Lawsuit Against NGO BankTrack for Opposing Dakota Access Pipeline
July 25, 2018
On July 25, 2018, a federal court dismissed a SLAPP lawsuit by developers of the Dakota Access Pipeline against BankTrack, a human rights and environmental NGO dedicated to ensuring that private banks engage in sustainable financing. Read More
Read More