Ohio has a new law to battle strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPPs. Supporters of the law say these suits are designed to stop people from expressing their First Amendment rights through lengthy and costly court actions.
Anti-SLAPP laws seek to protect people who are targets of lawsuits for defamation, invasion of privacy or other civil claims when the plaintiff’s actual goal is to silence the defendant. This can be a business or an industry group suing activists who have protested their practices, or an elected official suing a journalist or media outlet for a critical article. In a committee hearing on the bill, a lawyer told lawmakers that Ohioans have been sued for reporting sexual harassment by a guest speaker on campus or leaving a "neutral" rating on eBay.
When the law takes effect in March, targets of SLAPPs can challenge the merits of those lawsuits in the first 60 days, so plaintiffs would have to justify claims early on instead of dragging out cases. The law doesn't take away the rights of those who want to sue for defamation or other claims, but it creates a process that allows for meritless cases to be dismissed earlier.
The Ohio State Bar Association, environmental activists, journalism organizations, the ACLU of Ohio and the Ohio Domestic Violence Network were among the varied groups that supported the law.
Bridget Mahoney, public policy director for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, was hit with a lawsuit from her abusive ex-husband that she said was exhausting and expensive.
"I didn't realize how fragile my freedom of speech was until I got sued by my abusive ex-husband. He actually sued not only me, but our daughter and also the organization I worked for because we dared to talk about the abuse that we endured," Mahoney said, noting that she settled with her ex-husband because she was running out of money. "Without the protection of an anti-SLAPP law, we were forced into a nearly two year lawsuit with rolling discovery. And, defamation is just out of this world expensive - over $100,000."
“This is our third try in getting this bill passed. And it passed with 100% bipartisan support, which shows the impact of free speech being challenged in in Ohio," said Mahoney.
“We are pleased that Ohio will now join the several other states who have anti-SLAPP legislation on the books to bolster free speech protections and curb baseless lawsuits,” said Ohio Bar CEO Mary Amos Augsburger in a statement.
Ohio is the 35th state to pass an anti-SLAPP statute.
