House passes Borowski bill to protect freedom of speech & crack down on frivolous lawsuits
Rep. Lisa Borowski October 5, 2023 | 3:30 PM
HARRISBURG, Oct. 5 — Legislation designed to cut down on baseless lawsuits and protect freedom of speech, co-prime sponsored by state Rep. Lisa Borowski, D-Delaware, passed the House unanimously today.
House Bill 1466 addresses Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs. These are lawsuits filed against a person or organization for criticizing, via public statement or sentiment, a matter of interest to the filer.
While SLAPPs will often cite legal theories such as defamation or invasion of privacy, the true purpose of a SLAPP is to deter or silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense, Borowski said.
The legislation would create a process, based on protected speech, to quickly dismiss SLAPP lawsuits through a motion to dismiss. If the motion is successful, defendants may recover attorney’s fees, costs and damages related to the action. The bill includes a SLAPP back provision, so if a party invokes a SLAPP motion frivolously or solely to cause unnecessary delay, the court will award attorney’s fees and costs to the non-moving party.
“SLAPP suits are adult bully tactics – you don’t get to clog up our legal system and sue somebody just because you don’t like what they have to say,” Borowski said. “The House Democratic Caucus has been advocating since 2015 for legislation to protect Pennsylvanians from SLAPPs, and I was eager to sponsor this legislation and add my voice to the effort. I’ve seen the financial and emotional havoc wrought by these lawsuits, which tend to target some of the most vulnerable among us, including victims of sexual harassment seeking justice.”
Pennsylvania established limited protections from SLAPP lawsuits in 2000, but only in the narrow area of environmental law and regulations, Borowski said.
The additional co-prime sponsors of H.B. 1466 are state Reps. Ryan Bizzarro, D-Erie; Tim Brennan, D-Bucks; Joe Hohenstein, Tarik Khan, and Patrick Gallagher, all D-Phila.; and Melissa Cerrato and Liz Hanbidge, both D-Montgomery. The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.