Established May 28, 2017

Welcome To The Florida Anti‑SLAPP Project

Fighting Those Who Seek To Suppress Free Speech

info@floridaantislappproject.com

What Is A SLAPP

(Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation)

SLAPPs are lawsuits that attempt to chill the valid exercise of free speech. They are bogus, meritless, and frivolous legal actions, which have become all too common recently, but, of course, have no place in any democracy. They are brought by parisitic, nuissance attorneys whose client simply didn't like something that was written or said about them or their business.

Americans have, ostensibly, enjoyed the liberty to say or write whatever's on their minds, without fear of prosecution, for more than two centuries. It's only when a false statement is made that words have the potential to be defamatory. Pure opinion (when an author provides the factual basis upon which he basis his opinion) is non‑actionable.

In the State of Florida, there are additional requirements, above and beyond mere falsity for a plaintiff to state a valid claim of defamation, and our intention is to fully list and explain them all on this website. Additionally, we hope to share some simple legal strategies that any pro se defendant can utilize in order to achieve a fast resolution to any defamation action.

The objective of the reprobate attorneys who file SLAPPs, it's abundantly fair to say, is that the speaker whose statements are being challenged will delete what they wrote, offer to settle the case, or both. But those are not the only options for defendants in libel actions. Anyone can defend themselves, pro se. That means you.

Hiring a defamation attorney is expensive. And despite all of the braggarts in the Florida Bar who boast about their magnanimity, it's nearly impossible to find someone to take on one of these cases for free. So if you are forced to represent yourself, we hope you will read this website fully and commit to memory the information on these pages.

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Florida Defamation: Basic Requirements For A Cause Of Action

One

Libel Requirements: Proof Of A False Statement

Opinions are not actionable. Plaintiffs must show that any challenged statement is objectively false.

Two

Libel Requirements: Proof Of Actual (Money) Damages

Plaintiffs must show they have suffered a financial loss as the result of the challenged statement.

Three

Libel Requirements: Proof Of Pre‑Suit Notice

Plaintiffs must specifically cite in writing every alleged defamatory statement prior to filing a libel action.

Four

Libel Requirements: Where Readers Expect Facts

The "fast-and-loose" environments found in posting forums create an exemption from defamation claims.

Strategy: So You've Been Sued For Defamation

Responding To Your First SLAPP

If you've done nothing more than express "pure opinion" or a statement of fact, then being served a defamation lawsuit should be nothing about which to worry. Of course, if you've actually written or said something libelous, it's best to publicly apologize and retract your statement.

Legal Suggestions

In the State Of Florida, you must respond to any civil lawsuit within twenty (20) calendar days. Do not allow this deadline to pass without filing something; if you do, the plaintiff will win a default judgment against you.
If you did not receive a five-day, pre-suit notice, as required by §770.01, you should file a Motion To Dismiss, and immediately set it for a hearing on the judge's special set calendar.
If the complaint does not contain any proof of damages, you should file a Motion To Dismiss, and immediately set it for a hearing on the judge's special set calendar.
If the complaint does not contain any false statements, those that can be disproven by an objective core of evidence, you should file a Motion To Dismiss, and immediately set it for a hearing on the judge's special set calendar.

Practical Suggestions

Just like other civil lawsuits, plaintiffs expose themselves to the same discovery they will propound on you. So send them the maximum allowable number of interrogatories and requests for production.
You are entitled to take the plaintiff away from his work and schedule a deposition. So be sure to schedule an hours-long depo and interrogate him mercilessly about the events that gave rise to your statements.
Teach the plaintiff a lesson about free speech by staging a boycott of his business (remember to stay on public sidewalks at all times then post the video on YouTube).
Disrupt the plaintiff's business by registering a confusingly similar domain name to his. But do not, under any circumstance, solicit money for the sale of the domain name back to him or to any third‑party.

Welcome Message

So You've Been Sued For Defamation In Florida. What Now?

I used to mentor young journalists. Naturally, the topic of defamation occasionally would come up. At the time, I gave what I believed to be wholly and impeccably accurate answers to their questions.

I told them they could not be sued if what they published was true, truth being an absolute defense to any libel claim every time. I talked about things like "fair reporting" and the opinion privilege. And I told them about N.Y. Times v. Sullivan, a landmark Supreme Court case from the Sixties, all the minutiae of which was rammed down the throats of every first‑year student at my J‑School.

Now, two decades later, an epiphany has struck, thanks in large measure to an overly ambitious, wildly delusional novice attorney in Miami who's taken it upon himself to sue me, my company, and a freelance programmer who ultimately never worked for us.

The lawsuit is so preposterous, so sloppily crafted, so legally deficient in its pleadings, so loaded with reckless and unsubstantiated claims (it actually says I built a website that, to this day, publicly accessible records indicate, still never has existed), that it made me realize how wrong I was in my interaction with those young journalists all those eons ago. So to them, I offer a heartfelt apology.

My answer to each and every of their questions about whether they could be sued should have been resoundingly affirmative. A "yes" so loud and so exhilarating Joyce himself would have smirked from the great beyond.

What I've come to realize over the last two years, since this lawsuit began, is that any intellectually dishonest attorney can sue anybody for any reason at any time. See, there's no gatekeeper at your local county clerk's office to reject bogus libel actions. I never knew that before, mostly owing to the fact I'd never given it much thought.

Today, I know better. Every courthouse must accept and docket any civil lawsuit so long as it has a cover sheet and is accompanied by the mandatory filing fee. No matter how abjectly it fails to meet any of the requirements for a valid claim.

Sad but true. And that's the predicament in which I currently find myself ‑‑ victimized by the world's craziest defamation lawsuit, brought by a rookie attorney stuck in a dead‑end life looking to score a buck. I kid you not when I write that he had a case tossed just last week in which his client didn't like her roommate at a Fort Lauderdale hospital on West Oakland Park Boulevard, so he sued on her behalf.

Most bizarre thing is that neither I nor anyone acting at my behest played any role in the publication of any of the challenged statements. My only path forward, therefore, is to represent myself in the action. Truth be told, it's arduous and a gigantic distraction. But it's important work.

Bogus defamation lawsuits represent an erosion of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Millions of servicemen have given their lives in combat, both at home and abroad, to preserve and safeguard American values. Two sitting presidents literally had their heads blown apart by radicals who didn't agree with the direction in which the country was moving. Standing up to crackpot attorneys who threaten individual freedoms, placed in proper perspective, obviously, is a small sacrifice.

I implore anyone similarly victimized by a SLAPP to fight back. Hire a qualified attorney if you're insanely wealthy or willing to liquidate your retirement accounts. If you're not, like me, then read the information on this website, apprise yourself of, and know by rote, the relevant case law, and defend yourself.

I wrote an honest online review about nine years ago of a shady auto dealership (nothing even remotely hyperbolic or untrue) and was sued for defamation. In the end, I did a favor for the attorney, who was only caught in the crosshairs trying to help his father‑in‑law, and I cut a deal. To this day, that decision haunts me as my greatest professional regret. So I cannot be any more emphatic. Do not allow that to happen to you. Do not allow others to deprive you of your civil liberties by silencing that which they dislike.

SLAPPs are nothing more than weapons of intimidation, grotesque tactics intended solely to scare off defendants and shut down speech. That's not what America is all about; it's not what she ever has been about. Negotiate with the misanthropes who file SLAPPs and you'll be kicking yourself forever. Trust me.

I'm here to help anyone and everyone facing a bogus defamation lawsuit. If you have questions, e-mail me day or night. I can provide guidance but not legal advice; with a wee bit of good fortune, we'll soon have a cadre of veteran attorneys on staff who can render the latter.

Warmest regards,

D.T. Colen / April 23, 2017