Opinion ID: 2676157
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act

Text: In 2010, the Council of the District of Columbia enacted the D.C. AntiSLAPP Act to protect the targets of SLAPPs and encourage “engag[ement] in political or public policy debates.” Comm. Report at 4. Following the lead of a Because we determine that the denial of Zujua‟s motion to quash the 5 subpoena seeking his identifying information is appealable and that his motion should have been granted, we decline to address his claim that he is separately entitled to a protective order preventing the discovery of his identity. 8 number of other jurisdictions, the statute creates a “special motion to dismiss,” a procedural mechanism that allows a named defendant to quickly and equitably end a meritless suit. D.C. Code § 16-5502. The D.C. statute goes further than the other jurisdictions, however, in its additional protection for anonymous speech. Given that “SLAPP plaintiffs frequently include unspecified individuals as defendants,” Comm. Report at 4, and recognizing the importance of anonymous speech on matters of public interest, the D.C. Anti-SLAPP Act also allows “a person whose personal identifying information is sought” to safeguard his identity by filing a “special motion to quash” a subpoena. D.C. Code § 16-5503 (a). An anonymous would-be defendant who is able to protect her identity in this manner can thus avoid being named in a suit and served with a complaint. To establish the grounds for either of the two procedural protections the Anti-SLAPP statute affords—dismissal of the suit or quashing of a subpoena—the moving party must show that his speech is of the sort that the statute is designed to protect. Specifically, the moving party must “make[] a prima facie showing that the underlying claim arises from an act in furtherance of the right of advocacy on issues of public interest.” D.C. Code § 16-5502 (b); see also D.C. Code § 16-5503 (b). Upon such a showing, the motion will be granted unless the opposing party 9 demonstrates a likelihood of success on the merits of his or her underlying claim. Id.