In Washington state, in 1986, police entered the homes of two Roma (Gypsy) families on a faulty warrant and searched family members – including a baby – who were not the subjects of the warrant. The families sought $59 million in damages, and the city and county countersued in federal court, alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
Read MoreIn 2006, a woman brought suit against Sacha Baron Cohen, Channel 4 Television network, and HBO’s Da Ali G Show, claiming that Cohen, while playing the role of “Ali G”, libeled her by name during a spoof interview with historian Gore Vidal.
Read MoreIn Tennessee, the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition (CPRC), a grassroots group formed to fight the eminent domain abuse, ran an ad in the local newspaper criticizing elected officials and developers for backing a redevelopment plan including eminent domain. The ad said, in part, “This Redevelopment Plan is of the developers, by the developers, and for the developers.”
Read MoreIn 2008, members of the Texas civil rights group Black Citizens for Justice, Law and Order brought neighborhood concerns of racist policies to a public meeting. A member of the group took minutes at the meeting, including allegations of racist police acts and derogatory statements made about a local city council member, and forwarded the minutes to the Congress member for the district.
Read MoreIn 1998, Professor Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University, was sued for defamation by nursing home company Beverly Enterprises, Inc. over testimony she gave at a congressional town hall meeting.
Read MoreIn 2009, The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and its co-founders Robert M. Goldman and Ronald M. Klatz sued Wikimedia Foundation and ten anonymous posters for defamation in New York state court over comments appearing on A4M’s Wikipedia page.
Read MoreIn 1999, the oil refinery Tosco sued Communities for a Better Environment (CBE), claiming that CBE had libeled and slandered Tosco in the course of Clean Air Act lawsuits CBE had brought against Tosco.
Read MoreIn 1989, 60 Minutes broadcast a story about the harmful effects of a chemical called alar, used in apple growing. In this famous SLAPP, apple farmers in Washington state sued 60 Minutes and its parent companies, alleging more than $100 million in damages.
Read MoreIn 1997, the health care organization Beverly Enterprises sued the local president of the Service Employees International Union, accusing her of defaming an executive of the company in a one-on-one confrontation at a rally and at an informal town hall meeting called by five members of Congress.
Read MoreIn the landmark civil rights case NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 458 U.S. 886 (1982), a local branch of the NAACP instituted an economic boycott against white merchants in Claiborne County, Mississippi to pressure elected officials to adopt several racial justice measures. In response, the merchants sued the NAACP for tortious interference with business.
Read MoreIn 1995, the San Francisco Chronicle company invoked California’s anti-SLAPP law to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it and three reporters who had documented a dispute between a local university and the neighboring residents.
Read MoreIn 2002, Wells Fargo dismissed an employee. The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), of which Wells Fargo is a member, requires members to provide a designated form when a registered employee is terminated. Wells Fargo filed the form in November 2002, noting that it terminated the employee for “violation of company policies by misrepresenting information in the sale of annuities, not being properly registered and firm procedures regarding annuity applications.”
Read MoreIn 2002, workers at a Forever 21 clothing factory in California worked for months to resolve their grievances against the company through negotiation. After Forever 21 rejected the workers’ demands for paid back wages and compliance with labor laws, the workers filed a federal complaint, with the help of the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.
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In November of 2009, Miami law professor Donald Marvin Jones sued the popular website Abovethelaw.com, along with its parent company and editor David Lat, alleging $22 million in damages. Jones had been arrested on suspicion of soliciting an undercover officer for sex, and Abovethelaw commented on the arrest, calling Jones the “Nutty Professor.”
Read MoreIn 2001 in Washington State, a number of citizen groups and individuals opposed the land developer Right-Price’s proposal to build several new houses in a historic area. In response to the opposition, Right-Price sued several associations and individuals, seeking damages for slander, commercial disparagement, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy.
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