N.Y. Anti-SLAPP Statute Not Retroactive
The New York Legislature strengthened its “anti-SLAPP” statute in 2020, among other things by requiring even private figure plaintiffs to show “actual malice” in public-concern libel cases. This raised the question whether the statute retroactively applied to all pending lawsuits, including ones based on pre-2020 speech. Several federal district court decisions, including in Palin v. N.Y. Times Co., answered it, “yes, retroactive.”
But now the New York intermediate appellate court has said the law is not retroactive in this respect. From yesterday’s decision in Gottwald v. Sebert (the Dr. Luke v. Ke$ha case):
Contrary to the decision of the motion court and in other nonbinding decisions (see e.g. Palin v New York Times Co., 510 F Supp 3d 21 [SD NY 2020]), there is insufficient evidence supporting the conclusion that the legislature intended its 2020 amendments to the anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (anti-SLAPP) law to apply retroactively to pending claims such as the defamation claims asserted by plaintiffs in this action.
The Court of Appeals [i.e., New York’s highest court] has stated, in general terms, that “ameliorative or remedial legislation” should be given “retroactive effect in order to effectuate its beneficial purpose,” and this Court, in limited circumstances, has found the requisite legislati
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