WSSLLP Colorado attorneys recently won a Motion to Dismiss a Colorado District Court case pursuant to Colorado’s Anti-SLAPP statute (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), C.R.S. § 13-20-1101(3)(a). The relatively new law, adopted by the Colorado General Assembly in 2019, was enacted to address lawsuits aimed at stifling or punishing the exercise of the First Amendment right to free speech and to petition the government. The statute provides for a special motion to dismiss to protect certain “acts in furtherance of a person’s right of petition or free speech under the United States Constitution or the state constitution in connection with a public issue.” Litigants successful on anti-SLAPP motions are also entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees. WSSLLP’s client, a successful attorney, candidate for public office and advocate for homeowners and taxpayer rights was sued personally for his work on behalf of a quasi-governmental metropolitan district and advice regarding a proposed bond refinancing. The claims against him included fraud, civil conspiracy and deprivation of Constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court found that speech made by the Defendant attorney related to either public speeches he made about the plaintiffs or his conduct during litigation on behalf of his client. The Court further held that statements made during the litigation were protected by the litigation privilege. Under the second prong of the anti-SLAPP analysis, the Court found that Plaintiffs had no reasonable likelihood of prevailing on their substantive causes of action. The Court’s decision is important in safeguarding both the right to public speech and because, as the Court’s decision states, “few cases have applied Colorado’s anti-SLAPP statute.”
The full text of the Court’s Decision can be found here.
