SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. SLAPPs are civil claims against either an individual or an organization in which the alleged injury was the result of petitioning or free speech activities protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and by the California Constitution. SLAPPs are often brought by corporations, real estate developers, or government officials and entities against individuals or organizations who oppose them on public issues. Typically, SLAPPs are based on ordinary civil tort claims such as defamation (libel or slander), malicious prosecution, abuse of power, conspiracy, and interference with prospective economic advantage.
HERE for the Statutes on SLAPP:
STAGES FOR A SLAPP LAWSUIT:
1. Demand letter — The SLAPP plaintiff sends a letter before filing the lawsuit. This letter will demand that you cease the speech or petition activity, or you will be hit by a lawsuit.
2. Lawsuit is filed — The SLAPP plaintiff writes up a summons and complaint. The summons is a court order requiring you to respond to the lawsuit. The complaint contains the allegations being made against you. You are served with the above.
3. You have 30 days from the date of service to file a response to the complaint. If you do not answer, the SLAPP plaintiff can ask that the court find you in “default,” meaning that you can no longer file a response to the lawsuit without the court’s permission, and a default judgment may be entered against you.
4. You (or your lawyer) files a special motion to strike (also called an anti-SLAPP motion) This is the most important part of the case for you as the defendant in the SLAPP. By filing a special motion to strike, you are asking the judge to find that the plaintiff has sued you for exercising your free speech and/or petition rights, and that the plaintiff has failed to show that his/her suit has merit. You may file this motion as your response to the complaint, or you may first file a response that is not a special motion to strike (an “answer”), and file the special motion to strike later. Either way, you have 60 days after service of the summons/complaint to file your special motion to strike. At the hearing, the judge will decide whether or not to grant your special motion to strike. (California Rules of Court being discussed here)
5. If the special motion to strike is granted, the lawsuit is automatically dismissed, and the defendant has won. If the motion is denied (not granted), this means the anti-SLAPP law does not apply and the suit will continue on as any typical civil suit does.
7. Either the plaintiff or defendant in the SLAPP suit may file an appeal of the court’s decision on the special motion to strike. By filing an appeal, the plaintiff or defendant is taking the case to a higher court (the court of appeals) to determine whether the lower court judge correctly decided the special motion to strike.
8. If you are successful on your special motion to strike, you are automatically entitled to the attorney’s fees and costs you incurred defending against the SLAPP. The SLAPP filer must then pay these fees and costs to you and your lawyer as compensation for bringing the SLAPP.
https://www.casp.net/uncategorized/stages-of-a-slapp-suit/
Info on what to do if your Internet Provider informs you that your information is been subpoenaed. More detailed information here.
A subpoena seeking your personal identifying information means that some online activity originating from your IP address (“internet protocol” and is the identifying number your computer uses to access the Internet) is relevant in a lawsuit. It could be defamation or libel based on comments about a business or it might be copyright violations stemming from allegedly illegal filesharing. You should have also received a notice of subpoena from the website you have posted on. You may have received this notice first because, in order to subpoena your internet provider, the party in the lawsuit first must get your IP address from the website where you posted whatever material is relevant to the lawsuit. Once they know your IP address, they can then subpoena your internet provider to find out the personal identifying information for the account holder who uses that IP address, i.e., who you are, where you live, and other basic information about you that your internet provider has on file.
The subpoena gives you the name and contact information for the lawyer who issued the subpoena. DO NOT CONTACT THIS LAWYER. Next, look at who the plaintiff and defendant are. If the plaintiff is a company or individual you have recently written about on a website, then plaintiff is trying to sue you. If the defendant is listed on the subpoena as “Does 1-10” that means a Doe is an unnamed defendant that the plaintiff can later amend the complaint once the real name is known. The subpoena will also give you the name of the court where the lawsuit is filed and the lawsuit’s case number. By going to that court’s website and clicking on the link for “Civil Register” or “Online Case Information,” you may be able to view the complaint and other documents in the lawsuit. Now that you know all this, what can you do to prevent your internet provider or the website disclosing your identifying information? You do have rights but you have to act immediately. There are legal objections you can raise to quash the subpoena.
How to Take ANYBODY Abusive to Court 