I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2304 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to create a special motion to dismiss 

strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP suits). 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2015 

Mr. FARENTHOLD (for himself, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. ISSA, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, and Mr. POLIS) introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to create a special 

motion to dismiss strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP suits). 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Participation, 

5 Engagement, and Knowledge Freedom by Reducing Egre6 gious Efforts Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘SPEAK FREE Act 

7 of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SPECIAL MOTION TO DISMISS STRATEGIC LAW2 SUITS AGAINST PUBLIC PARTICIPATION. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VI of title 28, United States 

4 Code, is amended by adding after chapter 181 the fol5 lowing new chapter: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 182—SPECIAL MOTION TO DIS7 MISS STRATEGIC LAWSUITS AGAINST 

8 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘4201. Strategic lawsuit against public participation defined. 

‘‘4202. Motion to dismiss strategic lawsuit against public participation. 

‘‘4203. Discovery. 

‘‘4204. Interlocutory appeal. 

‘‘4205. Motion to quash. 

‘‘4206. Removal. 

‘‘4207. Fees, costs, and sanctions. 

‘‘4208. Definitions. 

9 ‘‘§ 4201. Strategic lawsuit against public participation 

10 defined 

11 ‘‘In this chapter, the term ‘strategic lawsuit against 

12 public participation’ or ‘SLAPP suit’ means a claim that 

13 arises from an oral or written statement or other expres14 sion, or conduct in furtherance of such expression, by the 

15 person against whom the claim is asserted that was made 

16 in connection with an official proceeding or about a matter 

17 of public concern. 

18 ‘‘§ 4202. Special motion to dismiss strategic lawsuit 

19 against public participation 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

21 (b), a person against whom a SLAPP suit is asserted may 


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1 file a special motion to dismiss. If the party filing a special 

2 motion to dismiss a SLAPP suit makes a prima facie 

3 showing that the claim at issue arises from an oral or writ4 ten statement or other expression by the defendant that 

5 was made in connection with an official proceeding or 

6 about a matter of public concern, then the motion shall 

7 be granted and the claim dismissed with prejudice, unless 

8 the responding party demonstrates that the claim is likely 

9 to succeed on the merits, in which case the motion shall 

10 be denied. 

11 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—The court shall 

13 not grant a special motion to dismiss under this sec14 tion if the claim is an enforcement action brought by 

15 an agency or entity of the Federal Government or a 

16 State or local government. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMMERCIAL SPEECH.—Except as pro18 vided in subsection (c), the court shall not grant a 

19 special motion to dismiss under this section if the 

20 claim is brought against a person primarily engaged 

21 in the business of selling or leasing goods or services 

22 where such claim arises from the statement or con23 duct of such person and such statement or con24 duct— 


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1 ‘‘(A) consists of representations of fact 

2 about such person’s or a business competitor’s 

3 goods or services, that is made for the purpose 

4 of obtaining approval for, promoting, or secur5 ing sales or leases of, or commercial trans6 actions in, the person’s goods or services, or the 

7 statement or conduct was made in the course of 

8 delivering the person’s goods or services; and 

9 ‘‘(B) arises out of the sale or lease of 

10 goods, services, or an insurance product, insur11 ance services, or a commercial transaction in 

12 which the intended audience is an actual or po13 tential buyer or customer. 

14 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC INTEREST.—Except as provided in 

15 subsection (c), the court shall not grant a special 

16 motion to dismiss under this section if the claim is 

17 a public interest claim. 

18 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS ON EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraphs (2) 

19 and (3) of subsection (b) shall not apply as to— 

20 ‘‘(1) any claim against a person or entity en21 gaged in the dissemination of ideas or expression in 

22 any book or academic journal, while engaged in the 

23 gathering, receiving, or processing of information for 

24 communication to the public; 


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1 ‘‘(2) any claim against any person or entity 

2 based upon statements or conduct concerning the 

3 creation, dissemination, exhibition, advertisement, or 

4 other similar promotion of journalistic, consumer 

5 commentary, dramatic, literary, musical, political, or 

6 artistic works, including motion pictures, television 

7 programs, or articles published online or in a news8 paper or magazine of general circulation; or 

9 ‘‘(3) any claim against a nonprofit organization 

10 that receives more than 50 percent of annual rev11 enue grants or awards from, programs of, or reim12 bursements for services rendered to the Federal, 

13 State, or local government. 

14 ‘‘(d) TIME LIMIT.—Unless the court grants an exten15 sion, a motion to dismiss a SLAPP suit shall be filed— 

16 ‘‘(1) not later than 45 days after the date of 

17 service of the claim, if the claim is filed in a Federal 

18 court; or 

19 ‘‘(2) not later than 30 days after the date of re20 moval, if the claim is removed to Federal court 

21 under section 4206. 

22 ‘‘(e) HEARING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graphs (2) and (3), the court shall set a hearing on 

25 a special motion to dismiss a SLAPP suit on a date 


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1 not later than 30 days after the date of service of 

2 the special motion to dismiss a SLAPP suit. 

3 ‘‘(2) HEARING POSTPONED.—Except as pro4 vided in paragraph (3), the court may postpone the 

5 hearing for up to 60 days, but shall set the hearing 

6 on a date that is not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of service of the special motion to dismiss a 

8 SLAPP suit, if— 

9 ‘‘(A) the docket conditions of the court re10 quire a later hearing; 

11 ‘‘(B) there is a showing of good cause; or 

12 ‘‘(C) the parties agree to postpone the 

13 hearing. 

14 ‘‘(3) EXTENSION FOR DISCOVERY.—If the court 

15 allows specified discovery under subsection (a) of 

16 section 4203, the court may extend the hearing date 

17 to allow specified discovery under that subsection, 

18 but the court shall set the hearing on a date not 

19 later than 120 days after the date of service of the 

20 special motion to dismiss a SLAPP suit. 

21 ‘‘(f) RULING.—The court must rule on a special mo22 tion to dismiss a SLAPP suit not later than 30 days after 

23 the date on which the final paper is required to be filed 

24 or the date argument is heard, whichever is later. 

25 ‘‘(g) EVIDENCE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether a 

2 legal action should be dismissed under this chapter, 

3 the court shall consider the pleadings and affidavits 

4 stating the facts on which the liability or defense is 

5 based. 

6 ‘‘(2) DISCOVERY.—If the court has ordered 

7 specified discovery pursuant to section 4203, the 

8 court may consider such discovery. 

9 ‘‘§ 4203. Stay of discovery 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

11 (b), upon the filing of a special motion to dismiss under 

12 section 4202, discovery proceedings in the action shall be 

13 stayed until a final and unappealable order is entered on 

14 such motion unless good cause is shown for specified dis15 covery. 

16 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—A stay issued under subsection 

17 (a) based on the filing of a special motion to dismiss under 

18 section 4202, that only seeks dismissal of a third-party 

19 claim or a cross claim asserted by a defendant shall only 

20 apply to discovery that is requested by the party asserting 

21 the third-party claim or cross claim or discovery that re22 lates solely to the third-party claim or cross claim. 

23 ‘‘§ 4204. Interlocutory appeal 

24 ‘‘An aggrieved party may take an immediate inter25 locutory appeal from an order granting or denying in 


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1 whole or in part a special motion to dismiss under section 

2 4202. 

3 ‘‘§ 4205. Motion to quash 

4 ‘‘A person whose personally identifying information 

5 is sought in connection with a claim subject to the proce6 dure described in section 4202(a) may at any time file 

7 a motion to quash the order to produce the information. 

8 If the party filing a motion to quash makes a prima facie 

9 showing that the order is for personally identifying infor10 mation, then the motion shall be granted and the order 

11 to produce the personally identifying information shall be 

12 quashed, unless the responding party demonstrates with 

13 an evidentiary showing that the claim is likely to succeed 

14 on the merits of each and every element of the claim, in 

15 which case the motion to quash shall be denied. No deter16 minations made in deciding a motion to quash under this 

17 section shall impede or otherwise diminish the availability 

18 of the procedures described in section 4202(a). 

19 ‘‘§ 4206. Removal 

20 ‘‘(a) SPECIAL MOTION TO DISMISS SLAPP SUIT.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), a civil action in a State court that raises 

23 a claim described in section 4202(a) may be removed 

24 to the district court of the United States for the ju25 dicial district and division embracing the place where 


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1 the civil action is pending. The grounds for removal 

2 provided in this section need not appear on the face 

3 of the complaint but may be shown in the petition 

4 for removal. 

5 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Removal may not be re6 quested under paragraph (1) on the basis of a third7 party claim or a cross claim asserted by a defendant. 

8 ‘‘(3) REMAND.—If a civil action is removed 

9 under paragraph (1) and an order denying in its en10 tirety a motion to dismiss filed under section 4202 

11 is not appealed within the time permitted by law or 

12 all potential appellate proceedings have been ex13 hausted, the court shall remand the remaining 

14 claims to the State court from which the civil action 

15 was removed. The remaining claims shall not be re16 manded to State court if the order granted a motion 

17 to dismiss in part and such order is not appealed 

18 within the time permitted by law or all potential ap19 pellate proceedings have been exhausted. 

20 ‘‘(b) MOTION TO QUASH.—A proceeding in a State 

21 court in which a request or order that reasonably appears 

22 to be a request or order described in section 4205 is 

23 sought or issued may be removed to the district court of 

24 the United States for the judicial district and division em25 bracing the place where the civil action is pending by any 


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1 person that seeks to file a motion to quash under section 

2 4205 and asserts a defense based on the First Amendment 

3 to the Constitution or laws of the United States. 

4 ‘‘§ 4207. Fees, costs, and sanctions 

5 ‘‘(a) ATTORNEYS FEES.—Except as provided in sub6 section (c), a court shall award a person that files and 

7 prevails on a motion to dismiss under section 4202 or a 

8 motion to quash under section 4205, litigation costs, ex9 pert witness fees, and reasonable attorneys fees. A party 

10 shall be a prevailing party as to a special motion to dismiss 

11 or to quash if a claim or discovery request is voluntarily 

12 dismissed or withdrawn after the filing of a special motion 

13 to dismiss. 

14 ‘‘(b) FRIVOLOUS MOTIONS TO DISMISS.—Except as 

15 provided in subsection (c), if a court finds that a motion 

16 to dismiss under section 4202, a motion to quash under 

17 section 4205, or a notice of removal under section 4206 

18 is frivolous or is solely intended to cause unnecessary 

19 delay, the court shall award litigation costs, expert witness 

20 fees, and reasonable attorneys fees to the party that re21 sponded to the motion or notice. 

22 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—The Federal Government and the 

23 government of a State, or political subdivision thereof, 

24 may not recover litigation costs, expert witness fees, or 

25 attorneys fees under this section. 


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1 ‘‘§ 4208. Definitions 

2 ‘‘In this chapter: 

3 ‘‘(1) MATTER OF PUBLIC CONCERN.—The term 

4 ‘matter of public concern’ means an issue related 

5 to— 

6 ‘‘(A) health or safety; 

7 ‘‘(B) environmental, economic, or commu8 nity well-being; 

9 ‘‘(C) the government; 

10 ‘‘(D) a public official or public figure; or 

11 ‘‘(E) a good, product, or service in the 

12 marketplace. 

13 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION.—The term 

14 ‘nonprofit organization’ means any organization that 

15 is described in section 501(c) of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986 and is exempt from tax under 

17 section 501(a) of such Code. 

18 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC INTEREST CLAIM.—The term 

19 ‘public interest claim’ means a claim— 

20 ‘‘(A) that is brought solely on behalf of the 

21 general public; 

22 ‘‘(B) where private enforcement is nec23 essary; 

24 ‘‘(C) that places a disproportionate finan25 cial burden on the plaintiff in relation to the 

26 plaintiff’s stake in the matter; 


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1 ‘‘(D) that, if successful, enforces an impor2 tant right affecting the public interest and con3 fers a significant benefit on the general public; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(E) notwithstanding attorneys fees, costs, 

6 or penalties, would provide relief only for the 

7 general public or a class of which the plaintiff 

8 is a member. 

9 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

10 the several States, the District of Columbia, each 

11 commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United 

12 States, and each federally recognized Indian tribe.’’. 

13 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) TABLE OF CHAPTERS.—The table of chap15 ters for part VI of title 28, United States Code, is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to 

17 chapter 181 the following new item: 

‘‘182. Special Motion to dismiss strategic lawsuits 

against public participation .............................. 4201’’. 

18 (2) INTERLOCUTORY DECISIONS.—Section 

19 1292(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amend20 ed— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking the semi22 colon at the end and inserting a period; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the semi24 colon at the end and inserting a period; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(4) Interlocutory orders granting or denying in 

3 whole or in part special motions to dismiss under 

4 section 4202.’’. 

5 (3) EXCEPTIONS TO DISCHARGE.—Section 

6 523(a) of title 11, United States Code, is amend7 ed— 

8 (A) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

9 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (B) in paragraph (19), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

12 (C) by inserting after paragraph (19) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(20) for litigation costs, expert witness fees, or 

15 reasonable attorney’s fees awarded by a court under 

16 chapter 182 of title 28 or under comparable State 

17 laws.’’. 

18 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 

19 this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall pre20 empt or supersede any Federal or State statutory, con21 stitutional, case, or common law that provides the equiva22 lent or greater protection for persons engaging in activities 

23 protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of 

24 the United States. 


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1 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This Act, and the 

2 amendments made by this Act, shall be construed broadly 

3 to effectuate the purpose and intent of this Act. 

Æ 


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