Strategic lawsuit against public participation

Strategic lawsuits against public participation, (SLAPP) refers to litigation filed by a large corporation to silence a less powerful critic by so burdening them with the cost of a legal defense that they abandon their criticism.

The US state of California has a statute that is intended to prevent the misuse of litigation in SLAPP suits.

Critics of Scientology claim that the organization regularly files SLAPP lawsuits against its opponents, and that the practice was written into Scientology "scripture" by L. Ron Hubbard.

Related Topics

• barratry
• vexatious litigation
• Scientology and the Legal System

External links

• Survival Guide for SLAPP Victims (http://www.casp.net/survival) from California Anti-SLAPP Project (http://www.casp.net/)
• PDF materials for California suits (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/slapp.cgi)
• SLAPPs--Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation: Coming to a Controversy Near You (http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/SLAPPS) -- Australian article, includes history of SLAPPs