Opinion ID: 2629508
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute differs significantly from state sovereign-immunity statutes

Text: John relies on Ortega v. Reyna, 114 Nev. 55, 953 P.2d 18 (1998), abrogated by Martinez v. Maruszczak, 123 Nev. 433, 443-44 & n. 28, 168 P.3d 720, 727 & n. 28 (2007), for the assertion that Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute cannot apply to a federal substantive claim. Citing Ortega, 114 Nev. at 62 & n. 5, 953 P.2d at 23 & n. 5, he argues by analogy that because state sovereign-immunity laws cannot insulate the state from 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims, likewise Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute cannot insulate the school district from John's discrimination claims. John's reliance on Ortega, however, is misplaced. While it is true that state sovereign immunity is not a defense to a § 1983 claim, there is a significant difference between state sovereign immunity and Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute. In Felder v. Casey, the United States Supreme Court stated that a state law that immunizes government conduct otherwise subject to suit under § 1983 is preempted, even where the federal civil rights litigation takes place in state court, because the application of the state immunity law would thwart the congressional remedy. 487 U.S. 131, 139, 108 S.Ct. 2302, 101 L.Ed.2d 123 (1988). Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute, however, is not an absolute bar to liability. Whereas immunity would bar all claims including meritorious claims, Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute differs as it permits cases to proceed to discovery and trial after a nonmoving party makes an initial demonstration of merit. See Globetrotter, 63 F.Supp.2d at 1129. In other words, Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute filters unmeritorious claims in an effort to protect citizens from costly retaliatory lawsuits arising from their right to free speech under both the Nevada and Federal Constitutions. See Comments by State Senator on S.B. 405 Before the Senate, 67th Leg. (Nev., June 17, 1993). Thus, like the federal preemption of state sovereign immunity in § 1983 cases, Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute seeks to promote and protect a citizen's exercise of his or her constitutional rights. As a result, federal preemption under the immunity analysis does not prevent the application of Nevada's anti-SLAPP statute to John's federal claims.