07/01/2025
Yesterday, I posted about a big defamation case I am involved in. It involves a brand new law in Ohio called the Ohio Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (AKA Ohio's Anti-SLAPP Law).
What does UPEPA do for the everyday person??
Imagine you’ve just posted a pointed—but truthful—comment on Facebook about a local developer’s plan to destroy the neighborhood park. The next week a sheriff’s deputy shows up at your door with a thick envelope. You’ve been sued for defamation and the complaint demands six-figure damages. You feel sick: you can’t afford years of court battles or repeated days off work for depositions. That queasy, silencing feeling is exactly what “SLAPP” suits are designed to create.
The Big Idea: Stop Lawsuits That Are Really Just Bullies in Disguise
A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) isn’t filed to win on the facts; it’s filed to make speaking up too expensive. Lawyers call it “the process is the punishment.”
The Uniform Public Expression Protection Act—UPEPA was written to shut that strategy down. Think of it as installing an emergency exit in the courthouse: if someone sues you over your speech on a public issue, UPEPA lets you reach that exit fast, before litigation costs explode.
How the Emergency Exit Works
1. You pull the fire alarm early. Within 60 days of being sued you file a one-page “special motion to dismiss.”
2. Everything else stops. The moment you file, discovery (interrogatories, document dumps, depositions) is put on ice.
3. Quick gut-check for the judge. The judge asks three questions in order:
o Is the lawsuit about your speech on a public matter?
o Has the plaintiff shown enough evidence that they’re likely to win?
o Even if so, does some other law still knock the claim out?
If the plaintiff can’t clear that middle hurdle, the case is tossed right then.
4. The bill flips. If you win the motion, the plaintiff—not you—must pay your attorney’s fees and court costs.
5. Fast appeal protection. If the judge makes a mistake and leaves the case alive, you can appeal immediately instead of slogging through the trial first.
The whole point is speed and cost-control. What might have taken three years and potentially hundreds of thousands in legal bills can be wrapped up in a season for a few thousand, or nothing at all if the court orders the other side to reimburse you.
Ohio’s Twist
Ohio adopted UPEPA in Senate Bill 237, effective April 9, 2025, now codified as Revised Code § 2747.01 – .06. Lawmakers kept the model act almost intact, so everything above applies here. If you’re sued in Ohio today for a city-council speech, a one-star Yelp review, or a TikTok exposé, you can invoke UPEPA and hit that exit.
Bringing It Home: How UPEPA Helps You
• Neighborhood Issues: Speak at a council meeting about zoning or school spending without fear of a retaliatory lawsuit.
• Online Reviews: Post a bad review of a contractor; if they sue to scare you silent, UPEPA gives you a fast off-ramp—unless the dispute is purely about commercial advertising claims (an explicit carve-out).
• Citizen Journalism: Run a podcast or blog digging into local politics? You get the same protection the Columbus Dispatch does.
• Social Media Sharing: Retweet a viral thread exposing a safety issue. If someone tries to punish you for spreading the word, UPEPA applies.
What to Do if You’re SLAPPed in Ohio
1. Call a lawyer right away and mention UPEPA (R.C. 2747).
2. Mark your calendar: The 60-day clock for filing the special motion starts the day you’re served.
3. Preserve evidence—keep posts, emails, and notes intact, but don’t panic about massive discovery; that’s the other side’s problem for now.
4. Stay vocal. The very existence of UPEPA is meant to keep people talking. Let the law do its job and keep participating.
Bottom Line
UPEPA turns the courtroom from a weapon back into a forum for real disputes. By giving judges an early way to spot and dismiss bullying lawsuits—and by shifting legal fees to the bully—it protects the town-hall commenter, the Yelp reviewer, and the TikTok whistle-blower just as surely as it protects big media. In Ohio, that protection is already on the books. Speak up. The law’s got your back.
