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How Changes In Texas Anti-SLAPP Statute Affects Entertainment Industry
Approximately 30 states have enacted anti-SLAPP statutes, which are intended to deter lawsuits that impede the right to free speech and other related activities. Essentially, these statutes attack SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) by creating a vehicle through which defendants can protect their rights by filing a dispositive motion to dismiss at the earliest stage of a case, before enduring expansive and invasive discovery. Arguably the most significant aspect of many anti-SLAPP statutes is that a movant who files a successful motion to dismiss could be entitled to its attorney fees. Undeniably, that aspect alone provides tremendous value to media outlets, publishers, public figures and others.
Texas's anti-SLAPP law, the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), which has similarities to — and some differences from — California's, has been one of the most defense-friendly anti-SLAPP statutes in the nation. Enacted in 2011, the TCPA seeks to "encourage and safeguard the constitutional rights" of people to "petition, speak freely, associate freely, and otherwise participate in government to the maximum extent permitted by law." Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §27.002. While statutes from various states apply to speech in only limited scenarios, courts have interpreted the TCPA to apply to a wide array of actions, as long as the underlying legal action is "based on, relates to, or is in response to a party's exercise of the right of free speech, right to petition, or right to association. …" §27.003(a). Notably, the right to free speech "means a communication made in connection with a matter of public concern." §27.001(3).
This broad language resulted in application of the TCPA to "matters of public concern" such as online reviews for a wedding photographer, trade secret disputes between competing companies and President Donald Trump's tweets accusing porn star Stormy Daniels of falsely reporting crimes (see, Clifford v. Trump, 339 F.Supp.3d 915 (C.D.Calif. 2018), applying the TCPA in granting the defense motion to dismiss Daniel's defamation claim).
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