Are there any legitimate purposes for defamation and business tort cases?
Pring: Certainly. Defamation lawsuits are as old as the United States and older. There are legitimate defamation cases out there and legitimate business interference cases. But what is immediately suspect is if they are filed because of someone’s communication to government. That immediately puts them into this suspect SLAPP category. It may make sense to punish a person for defamation if they badmouth someone in the street. But it is very suspect if suit is filed after a citizen enters into a legitimate public political context, where government is reaching out and asking for information specifically from the people, and the citizen says, “OK government, here is what I think, here is what I want, here is what you should do.” MM: Is there a distinction between that kind of case and when people are speaking out in an attempt to shape public opinion with an ultimate goal of influencing public policy? Pring: Our study focuses exclusively on the Petition Clause of the First Amendment. The
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- Are there any legitimate purposes for defamation and business tort cases?
