The Texas Citizens Participation Act (“TCPA”), enacted in 2011, is the Texas version of an Anti-SLAPP statute, which have been enacted by over 30 states around the country to protect free speech and the right of association...more
On May 26, 2017, the Texas Supreme Court addressed whether Texas recognizes a defamation claim for compelled self-publication. The Texas Supreme Court, joining a number of other states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Compelled self-defamation claims most commonly occur in the wrongful termination context, when plaintiffs allege they are required to defame themselves to prospective employers because they are required to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Texas Supreme Court throws out a former employee’s defamation suit under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, finding that communications about his alleged failure to measure a petroleum storage tank...more
Back in late 2015, I wrote a five-part series on the Expanding Scope of the TCPA or Texas’ Anti-SLAPP law. The Supreme Court of Texas confirmed our analysis last week with its decision in the ExxonMobil v. Coleman confirming...more
To conclude the series, we look at one more opinion — Serafine v. Blunt, No. 03-12-00726-CV, 2015 WL 2061922 (Tex. App.—Austin May 1, 2015). This case dealt with a property dispute, but the real interest comes from the...more
It is easy to see how this applies to your straightforward defamation case assuming the defendant engaged in the “exercise of the right of free speech” which means “a communication made in connection with a matter of public...more