Table of Contents

Preface 1. The Onslaught of SLAPPs Cases in Point * The Definition: What Are "SLAPPs"? * The Process: How SLAPPs work * Why Not SLAPPs? Sympathy for Filers 2. The Constitution's Great Safeguard: The Right to Petition The Theory Behind "Open Government" * The Supreme Court and the Fact Quagmire * The Noerr-Pennington Doctrine and the "Sham" Exception * The Omni Case: A Success Model * SLAPPs: More than a "Legal" Problem 3. Real Estate SLAPPs: Developers, Land Use, and Growth Turning Up the Heat A Classic Real Estate Developer SLAPP * A Rash of SLAPPs * Repeat Players and Developers' Motives * A Protective Precedent 4. The Ultimate SLAPP: Public Servants Turning on the Taxpayers The Police SLAPP * The School SLAPP * The Public Official SLAPP 5. Eco-SLAPPs: Turning the Tables on the Environmental Movement SLAPPs in the Wilderness * "Pollution Buster" SLAPPs * Animal Rights and Wrongs 6. "Not in My Backyard" SLAPPs: Care Homes, Landfills, and Other "LULUs" Turning Up on Our Doorsteps The Least Objectionable LULUs * More Objectionable LULUs * The Most Objectionable LULUs * The Spreading Spectrum and the Solution 7. Rights SLAPPs: Turning Against Consumers', Workers', Women's...and Your Rights The Caveat Emptor SLAPP * What Rights Are Left? 8. Judicial Cures: Managing the SLAPP Managing SLAPPs Before They Happen * Managing SLAPPs as Soon as They Happen * Managing SLAPPs in Court 9. Judicial Cures: Managing the SLAPPback The Birth and Growth of SLAPPbacks * The Legal Grounds for SLAPPbacks 10. Anti-SLAPP Legislation and Other Cures The Legislative Cure: "Anti-SLAPP Laws" * A Model Anti-SLAPP Bill * Executive Branch Contributions Appendix: The SLAPPs Study Methods and Findings: A Conflict Between Democracy and Capitalism The Study Methodology * The Study Findings Notes Index

Promotional Information

The first book to explain, document, and offer solutions to SLAPPS, by the lawyers who identified the trend and lead the battle cry against it

About the Author

George W. Pring is Professor of Law at the University of Denver. Penelope Canan is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Denver. They are the co-directors of the Political Litigation Project at the University of Denver.

Reviews

"Anyone who treasures and uses the First Amendment will find this first ever book on the SLAPP suit epidemic a wake up call to careful civic action." --Ralph Nader "This is a lively and important book documenting how SLAPPs are too often used to intimidate and punish citizens for participating in the political process. The book is a much-needed boost for grassroots democracy, which should heighten awareness of how the judicial system can be manipulated and abused to chill free debate." --Rodney A. Smolla, Director, Institute of Bill of Rights Law, The College of William and Mary "In this eminently lucid and accessible new book, Professors Pring and Canan solidify their rare position as innovators and problem solvers whose groundbreaking observations and insights not only coined the phrase, but energized a legal movement against the insidious abuse of legal process and rights of free expression known to the world as the 'SLAPP' suit." --Henry R. Kaufman, First Amendment Attorney, General Counsel, Libel Defense Resource Center "Citizen involvement plays a crucial role in effective government, particularly when it comes to enforcement of environmental laws. Lawsuits designed to chill and deter public participation hurt not only the targets, but society as a whole. Pring and Canan's book is a must for government lawyers who understand the importance of the public's right to petition and want to ensure that it continues." --Nancy Stearns, Former Assistant Attorney General, New York State Department of Law