‘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
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Alleged Assailants Retaliate Against #MeToo Movement
August 28, 2018
As #MeToo survivors share their experiences of sexual assault and domestic violence, many have faced retaliatory lawsuits. The power imbalance between survivors and alleged assailants is especially apparent in the revelations involving high profile men in Hollywood and the public eye. Examples abound: Bill Cosby,…
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An Environmental Advocate’s Guide to Avoiding Defamation and Other Publication Lawsuits
May 31, 2005
The First Amendment Project wrote this guide to help protect environmental advocates from defamation lawsuits. However, this resource provides guidance on avoiding defamation that is not only useful for environmental organizations, but a broader range of civil society groups.
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California Anti-SLAPP Project
August 10, 2018
The California Anti-SLAPP Project (CASP) is a law firm that fights against SLAPPs and protects the First Amendment. The firm’s website has a number of resources to help those targeted by SLAPPs. While the resources are geared towards those in California, they provide a useful reference for individuals and…
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Defamation, Libel, Slander…and Other Common SLAPP disguises
August 10, 2018
The California Anti-SLAPP Project created this factsheet to explain the types of legal claims (such as defamation, invasion of privacy, and conspiracy) that are often used to disguise a SLAPP. The definitions on this sheet apply specifically to California law, but provide a general overview that can…
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Defending Against a SLAPP
August 10, 2018
The California Anti-SLAPP project created this factsheet to describe the basic parts of litigation involving a SLAPP. Although the content is specific to California laws, it provides a general overview that can be useful for individuals and organizations facing SLAPPs in other jurisdictions.
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Encyclopedia of Types of SLAPPs
August 28, 2018
Legal bullies never admit that they are filing a “strategic lawsuit against public participation” (SLAPP); SLAPPs come disguised as legitimate legal claims. Here are some of the most common types of legal theories used in SLAPPs. Note: these legal theories all appear in legitimate lawsuits, as well; in each case,…
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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,…
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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…
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Green Groups: Suits to Silence Them on the Rise
April 14, 2017
In this article for Bloomberg Law, Peter Hayes describes a SLAPP filed against residents of Uniontown, Alabama who opposed the dumping of toxic material in a landfill in their community. While it’s difficult to estimate the number of SLAPPs, it’s clear…
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Guarding Against the Chill: A Survival Guide for SLAPP Victims
May 31, 2018
The First Amendment Project created this handbook to help individuals and organizations identify SLAPPs and protect themselves. This includes preemptive actions to reduce exposure to SLAPPs and actions to take if a SLAPP bully targets you or your organization.
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How the Wealthy Use Frivolous Lawsuits to Silence Activists, Journalists, and Even Victims of Sexual Violence
September 12, 2018
In this article for Salon, Amanda Marcotte reports on the launch of the Protect the Protest task force, as well as the wide range of public interest organizations affected by SLAPPs. This includes, for example, media organizations, environmental activists, and sexual…
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Landfill Operator Tries to Silence Community Activists in Alabama
August 28, 2018
Uniontown, Alabama is one of the poorest communities in the United States. Its population is 91% African American, and half of its residents live below the poverty line. Georgia-based Green Group Holdings operates a landfill in the town. When the company dumped millions of tons of toxic coal ash…
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Law Firm Uses Anti-Mafia Law to Harass Environmentalists
August 28, 2018
New York City-based law firm Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP is attempting to use an anti-mafia law to stifle the free speech of civil society organizations. In July 2018, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Canadian logging giant, Resolute Forest Products, against environmental organizations Greenpeace and Stand.earth. Resolute and…
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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…
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Police Officers Attempt to Hold Black Lives Matter Activists Liable for Other Protesters’ Actions
August 28, 2018
Following a series of protests in 2016 and 2017, several injured police officers sued the Black Lives Matter movement. In late 2016, for example, a police officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, brought a lawsuit against Black Lives Matter, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, and DeRay Mckesson, a high profile activist associated with…
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SLAPPed: A Tool for Activists
May 15, 2014
The ACLU of Ohio developed this guide to help activists better understand SLAPPs and how to defend against them. The guide includes a brief history of SLAPPs and a description of modern SLAPPs, including those against free speech online.
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SLAPPs: Getting Sued for Speaking Out (1996)
January 01, 1996
This book, by the two professors who coined the term “SLAPP,” charts the history of SLAPPs. The book examines the history of how the courts have addressed SLAPPs and looks at trends during the 1970s-1990s. An excerpt of the book is available here. The full book can…
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SLAPPs: Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation (1989)
September 01, 1989
The Pace Environmental Law Review published this article in 1989 by one of the two professors who coined the term “SLAPP.” This article analyzes the legal implications of SLAPPs, while a counterpart article by Penelope Canan examines SLAPPs from a sociological perspective.
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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
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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.
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Trump’s Mob Violence Reminds Us Why We Need To Defend Protest
January 25, 2021
We stand unequivocally behind the right to protest. And we stand unequivocally behind the fact that what happened on January 6, 2021 was NOT a protest. They were not protestors, but white supremacist, anti-democratic, insurrectionists attacking our country and our people.The organizers of the attack on the U.S. Capitol planned… Read More
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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.
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U.N. must examine growing trend of U.S. corporations using courts to silence dissent, says free speech group
January 15, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC — Protect the Protest, an international task force of over 20 organizations working to protect free speech, is calling on the U.N. Human Rights Committee to address the growing trend of corporations and individuals in the United States using Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to… Read More
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Hollywood’s Notorious Men Retaliate Against #MeToo Movement
August 20, 2018
Valentina Stackl of EarthRights International discusses the pervasive use of SLAPPs against #MeToo survivors. Stackl writes, “As #MeToo survivors bravely share their experiences of sexual assault and intimate partner violence, they endure criticism, threats, and renewed emotional trauma. They also face retaliatory lawsuits.”… Read More
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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
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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
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