SLAPP BACK: IS ABUSIVE LITIGATION AS BIG A PROBLEM AS WE THINK?
In September 2024, numerous members of the UK parliament (MPs) received a letter from a law firm called Silver, Langston and Percival Partners. The contents of this letter were claims that the recipient had “made and repeated a number of seriously untrue allegations and misrepresentations that are highly damaging to our client”.
The law firm was fictional. The letter was a spoof sent by the UK Anti-SLAPP Coalition (UKAC) to raise awareness of “how aggressive legal threats can be deployed by those seeking to avoid accountability” and restart the recently stalled progress of an anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP) law for the UK. The letter was widely sent to MPs despite it being a criminal offence to imitate a solicitor.
SLAPPs are not a new phenomenon, but their use has received greater public attention since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with sanctioned Russian oligarchs facing unprecedented levels of interest in, and scrutiny of, the sources of their wealth.
In response, some individuals have taken to the English courts to discourage reporters and the media from delving too deeply into their affairs.
David versus Goliath
For the media and organisations like the UKAC, the inherent problem with, and hallmark of, SLAPPs are their reliance on an imbalance of financial resources between the claimant and the defendant.
One such example is the case between Gerry Kerry, a Sinn Féin member of the legislative assembly, and Malachi O’Doherty, a journalist against whom Mr Kelly issued a writ claiming damages in August 2020.
Jan-Mar 2025 issue
Gateley Legal