SLAPP Suits

Speak up at a Planning Commission meeting. Sign a Liquor Board petition about a problem business. Within your rights? Well, the first group was hit by a $25 million lawsuit and the second got a letter from lawyers threatening them with a suit. These are SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) suits, generally filed by powerful parties that want to intimidate and shut down critics. There's a reason they're popping up so regularly around Baltimore and the region - watchdog groups say Maryland's laws to discourage them are among the weakest in the nation.

Campaign to bolster Maryland’s weak anti-SLAPP law gets a boost from a Baltimore story

The state’s vaguely written law intended to curtail frivolous libel lawsuits is letting the powerful get away with silencing speech and stopping citizens from engaging with government, advocates say.

Residents appeal dismissal of lawsuit against Clipper Mill developer who hit them with $25 million SLAPP

A judge said they should be content with winning legal costs after Larry Jennings’ suit was thrown out. But residents want to send a stronger message to discourage intimidation by the powerful.

Anti-SLAPP court testimony targets two prominent Baltimore developers

The lawyer for residents who filed a class action complaint in response to a $25 million lawsuit assailed Larry Jennings for initiating it and David Bramble for not dropping it.

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Socked by SLAPP suit, Clipper Mill residents punch back

In a stunning twist, the individuals and entities Baltimore developer Larry Jennings sued for $25 million in 2020 have filed a class action suit against him, saying courts should send a message against lawsuits designed to intimidate.

Maryland lawmakers must stop the powerful from SLAPPing down free speech

After Fells Point residents get a threatening letter from the Atlas Restaurant Group’s lawyer, a call for reform of the notoriously weak law to curb Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (aka SLAPP) lawsuits. [OP-ED]

Atlas Restaurant Group’s plan for a new bar on Thames Street stirs anger and fear

Lawyer for the politically influential hospitality company warns residents – including the spouse of Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman – that they could be personally sued.