tcpalm.com Apr 16, 2015
opinion | editorials
Can you be sued for speaking out against a proposed development in the Sunshine State?
Yes.
And it happens more than you may think.
Former Martin County Commissioner Maggy Hurchalla spoke out against Lake Point, a rock pit project in western Martin County. In January 2013, the developer filed a lawsuit against Hurchalla, claiming she secretly and maliciously lied about the project in an email to county commissioners.
A court will decide whether there are any merits to the developer’s claims. However, the lawsuit appears to have many characteristics of a SLAPP — a strategic lawsuit against public participation.
Hurchalla said Lake Point now claims she “caused Martin County and the South Florida Water Management District to refuse to let them sell water from the C-44 canal to West Palm Beach.”
Funding a legal defense can be costly.
Hurchalla estimates her legal fees have topped $100,000 (and counting).
State law prohibits SLAPP suits by government agencies. The purpose is clear: to protect the rights of Floridians to speak freely in connection with public issues — in other words, to exercise their First Amendment rights.
However, state law is too narrow. It affords limited protections to individual citizens from SLAPP suits by corporations and other individuals.
A bill in the 2015 Legislature would broaden the application of Florida’s anti-SLAPP statute.
Senate Bill 1312, sponsored by Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, would expand the definition of “free speech in connection with public issues” to include statements made before a governmental entity.
The proposed bill contains this important language: ” ‘Free speech in connection with public issues’ means any written or oral statement that is protected under applicable law and is made before a governmental entity in connection with an issue under consideration or review by a governmental body.”
This would include development projects such as Lake Point.
Equally important, SB 1312 would prohibit a “person” — not just a governmental entity — from filing meritless claims against someone who exercises his or her constitutional right of free speech in connection with public issues.
The First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that monitors Sunshine Law and free speech issues, supports the bill.
So does our editorial board.
Individual Floridians, who are currently protected from SLAPP suits by governmental entities, deserve the same protections from corporations and other individuals.