Anti-SLAPP

What Anti-SLAPP Is
Ohio’s Anti-SLAPP procedure (Ohio’s UPEPA) is an early-motion framework designed to quickly test certain lawsuits that target protected expression. When it applies, it can change the pace and cost of a case, often by pushing the fight to the front of the case instead of letting it drag into months of expensive discovery.

It’s a way to ask the court, early, “Does this claim have enough legal and factual support to proceed, given what was actually said and the context it was said in?”

Who It’s For & Not For
This is often a fit if you:
- Have been sued (or credibly threatened) for something you said, wrote, posted, reviewed, or reported, and the dispute is tied to expression that may be protected.
- Need an early, disciplined evaluation before you accidentally create new evidence or weaken defenses.

This is Not a Magic Shield if:
- The case depends on facts that require heavy discovery because the record is muddy (often caused by post-filing rebuttals, edits, deletions, or escalating posts).
- You want a guarantee of dismissal. Anti-SLAPP is procedural and fact-specific, it can shift leverage, but outcomes depend on the record.

If you’re considering filing a defamation claim as a plaintiff, you also need counsel who understands the Anti-SLAPP landscape, because it can affect timing, costs, and exposure.

How We Help
1. Triage fast (first 48 hours matters): We identify deadlines, posture, and immediate risk, especially anything that could blow up costs or leverage.
2. Lock down the record (preserve; don’t “clean up”): We guide preservation so you don’t unintentionally create spoliation arguments or credibility problems.
3. Analyze the statements in context (fact vs. opinion): A core early question is whether the alleged statements are provable facts or protected opinion/commentary, and how a reasonable reader would take them.
4. Pressure-test publication and damages: Defamation claims often fail on threshold issues like whether the statement was actually published to a third party, and whether damages are real and provable, not just “reputation harm” in the abstract.
5. Decide the early-motion strategy (including Anti-SLAPP when applicable). Where available, we evaluate Anti-SLAPP/UPEPA motion practice and build the cleanest path to an early resolution.

What We Need From You
Bring (or upload) these so we can evaluate quickly and accurately:
1. The complaint / demand letter and proof of service (if filed/served)
2. Exact statements at issue (screenshots + surrounding context)
3. URLs / permalinks for each post/comment/review (screenshots without URLs are easier to dispute)
4. Timeline: when posted, edits (if any), when you learned of the claim, key events the other side calls “damages”
5. Any communications about the dispute (texts, emails, DMs, voicemails)

What not to do while we evaluate: don’t post “final statements,” don’t retaliate, don’t delete/edit content.