In 2016, Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute underwent key substantive and procedural revisions designed to make it more attractive to Georgia’s growing entertainment industry. These revisions not only expanded the scope of the statute but were expected to open the door for the statute to be applied in federal court. By removing the statute’s verification requirement and replacing it with a mechanism that requires plaintiffs to demonstrate, rather than verify, that their claims have merit, proponents expected the revised statute to provide a unique framework for early dismissal in both state and federal courts.
A SLAPP lawsuit (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) is one that is filed to intimidate, silence or punish opponents for exercising their right to comment on matters of public concern. In an effort to protect the constitutional rights of petition and free speech and ensure that these rights are not diminished out of fear of retaliatory litigation, many states, including Georgia, have adopted anti-SLAPP statutes. Although these laws vary dramatically, anti-SLAPP statutes generally impose distinct procedural hurdles in cases involving speech activity, which can lead to early dismissal as well as the imposition of monetary penalties.
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