New York legislators have for years considered amending the state’s statutes that grant rights and protections to the targets of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP). As it now stands, New York’s anti-SLAPP law is one of the narrowest in the country, and some legislators want to change that. With the new single party control of the legislature and governor’s mansion, this may finally be the year for anti-SLAPP reform in New York. In this article, we will explore what may be in store for New York’s anti-SLAPP laws.
Background
Anti-SLAPP laws are intended to provide procedural protections for citizen activists, whistleblowers, and others who find themselves on the wrong end of vindictive lawsuits intended to punish them for speaking out on public matters. These laws have been enacted in states across the country in response to stories of moneyed interests filing meritless lawsuits against advocates of opposing interests, leveraging the burdens and costs of litigation as a tool to stifle dissent. For example, a typical “SLAPP suit” may be a real estate developer suing opponents of the developer’s request for a zoning variance, or a manufacturer suing activists who have opposed its labor practices, in each case to impose a punishing cost to deter opposition. See, e.g., St. Beat Sportswear v. Nat’l Mobilization Against Sweatshops, 182 Misc. 2d 447 (Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty. 1999) (New York law); Dirty Work Const. v. McCarroll, No. D038578, 2003 WL 1233074 (Cal. Ct. App. March 18, 2003) (California law).
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