Citizen libel law also shields papers p. 13

By: Editorial Staff

A CALIFORNIA LAW allowing private citizens to get quick dismissal of frivolous libel suits also protects newspapers, a state appeals court has ruled.
The 1992 law was designed to counter the Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP. Typically, a developer will claim libel by opponents of a proposed project and will file a suit that has no legal merit but that imposes ruinous costs on the opponents.
Under the law, anyone sued for exercising their free-speech rights can get the suit dismissed at an early hearing unless the opponents can show they have a likelihood of winning the suit. SLAPP filers must also pay defendants' legal fees when the suit is dismissed.
The law also applies to frivolous suits against corporations, such as newspapers, for exercising their constitutional rights of expression, the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled last month.
The court upheld a San Francisco Superior Court judge's dismissal of a libel suit against several San Francisco Chronicle reporters and the Chronicle Publishing Co. The suit was filed by More University, an institution near the town of Lafayette offering degrees in "sensuality" as well as traditional subjects.
A series of Chronicle articles detailed a zoning dispute between the school and Contra Costa County supervisors, neighbors' complaints against More, and various lawsuits filed by and against the school. The stories referred to More as a "sensuality school" and said it offered a "unique course in carnal knowledge."
The libel claim in More's suit against the Chronicle was dismissed by a judge who relied on the SLAPP law and said the school had failed to offer any proof the articles were false. The appeals court agreed.