On anti-Slapp grounds, a California appeals court dismissed a lawsuit brought by San Diegans for Open Government against the nonprofit Investigative News Source. The nonprofit had published a series of investigative reports on an environmental lawyer with ties to the open government group, the series uncovering ethically suspect lawsuits against public entities. (Courthouse News Service, May 5, 2017, by Matthew Renda)
The lawsuit centered on a lease agreement between inewsource, San Diego State University and KPBS contending that the executive director of inewsource had a conflict of interest as a San Diego State faculty member. The judges weren’t buying that and saw the lawsuit an attempt to silence inewsource. (Metropolitan News-Enterprise, May 4, 2017, by Kenneth Ofgang)
In hearing the case, one judge commented that the case “has a bit of aroma about it of trying to retaliate or to prevent free speech.” (inewsource, April 14, 2017, by inewsource staff)