Anti-SLAPP
In 1994 California passed legislation to protect the victims of "SLAPP"
cases ("Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation"), suits
brought, typically by developers, against individuals and groups that
appear before government agencies in opposition to development permits.
Strumwasser & Woocher won early landmark cases applying the law to
defend an archaeologist on a development project, and has successfully
represented other private citizens and Public Interest Organizations who
had been sued for their public speech.
Dixon v. Superior Court, 30 Cal. App. 4th 73 (1994).
The firm secured and defended on appeal the dismissal of multi-million-dollar
civil rights claims lodged against a collection of homeowners and an unincorporated
homeowners' association who had been sued for providing testimony
to the East Los Angeles Planning Commission regarding a proposed property
development in their neighborhood.
Roy v. Mt. Washington Homeowners'
Alliance (2011 WL 893390).