| Subgrades | |
| Covered Speech: | A+ |
| Anti-SLAPP Protections: | A+ |
| Subscores | |
| Covered Speech: | 100 out of 100 points |
| Anti-SLAPP Protections: | 100 out of 100 points |
| Detailed Scoring on Anti-SLAPP Protections | |
| Suspension of Court Proceedings Upon an Anti-SLAPP Motion: | 20 of 20 points |
| Burden of Proof on Plaintiff to Defeat an Anti-SLAPP Motion: | 12 of 12 points |
| Right to an Immediate Appeal: | 25 of 25 points |
| Award of Costs and Attorney Fees: | 40 of 40 points |
| Expansive Statutory Interpretation Instruction to Courts: | 3 of 3 points |
State Anti-SLAPP Statute
In January 2025, Ohio became the thirty-fifth state to have an anti-SLAPP statute[1] when it enacted the “Uniform Public Expression Protection Act,” mirrored after the ULC’s UPEPA. The law’s key provisions offer robust protections for free speech. Cases can be evaluated on constitutional grounds at the start; defendants gain the right to immediate appeal if an anti-SLAPP motion is denied; and winning defendants can recover their legal costs and attorney fees.
Two provisions, added by the House Judiciary Committee, further strengthened the legislation. As explained in a memo, “the chapter…confer[s] substantive immunity from suit, and not merely immunity from liability, for any cause of action concerning protected speech under the bill.”[2] Additionally, the new law “[p]rovides that the court must not fail to award, or reduce an award of, attorney’s fees, court costs, and other reasonable litigation expenses on the grounds that the representation of the moving party was undertaken on a pro bono or contingent basis.”
This new law represents a dramatic improvement in the free speech rights of Ohioans, because that state did not previously have an anti-SLAPP law and, therefore, received an F grade in our 2023 Anti-SLAPP Report Card.
[1] Ohio Revised Code, §§2747.01-2747.06.
[2] See https:///www.legislature.ohio.gov/download?key=24051.
