¿Qué es una demanda anti-SLAPP?

SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. SLAPP refers to a type of lawsuit filed with the intention to silence or intimidate someone from exercising their legal rights rather than to resolve the legal claim. To protect individuals and entities from these lawsuits, which are considered to be retaliatory, many states have Anti-SLAPP laws which allow defendants to quickly dismiss meritless lawsuits and allow them to recover attorneys’ fees if they prevail.

Por qué son importantes las protecciones anti-SLAPP

Estas protecciones son esenciales para los siguientes puntos:

• Garantizar que los abogados puedan defender a sus clientes sin temor a demandas por represalias.
• Prevenir el uso indebido del sistema jurídico para suprimir reclamaciones legítimas
• Hacer que quienes presenten demandas abusivas (o demandas en represalia) rindan cuentas financieramente

Leyes anti-SLAPP en California

California cuenta con una de las leyes anti-SLAPP más estrictas del país, diseñada para proteger tanto a personas como a entidades (como bufetes de abogados) de ser demandadas por participar en conductas protegidas. Esto se basa en Código de Procedimiento Civil de California § 425.16. Las características principales de la ley incluyen las siguientes:

• Desestimación temprana del caso, minimizando tiempo y gastos para el acusado
• Suspensión automática, ahorrando recursos hasta que se decida la moción
• Attorney’s fees awarded if the Anti-SLAPP motion is resolved favorably

Otros ejemplos de demandas SLAPP

• Una empresa demanda a un cliente por publicar una reseña negativa en línea
• Un propietario demanda a un inquilino por presentar una queja ante las autoridades de vivienda por condiciones de vida inseguras o inhabitables.
• Una persona que demanda a otra parte por presentar un informe policial.
• Un bufete de abogados demanda a otro bufete por iniciar una disputa de honorarios

In general, these are lawsuits filed with the purpose to retaliate against a party or entity for simply exercising their rights. These claims may be filed with the intention to intimidate parties/entities or to further delay the legal process.

El compromiso de Downtown LA Law Group con nuestros clientes

As a client, you have the right to switch representation at any time during your case and for practically any reason. Here at our law firm, we offer free second opinions to ensure that those looking into switching representation have access to all the information that they need before they decide to switch legal teams. Whether we are handling cases from the start or taking them on after they have been handled by another legal team, our legal team are committed to ensuring that all of our clients can access the payout that they are owed within a reasonable time after their case has been resolved. Naturally, it may take a few days or even a couple of weeks for clients to be able to access their funds after a case resolution. However, we believe in doing everything necessary to make the process as simple as possible – and getting settlement checks to our clients as soon as we are able to. When other law firms work against us in meeting this goal, we have no other choice but to take additional legal action to continue protecting the rights of our clients.

Getting our clients the payout that they are owed is our primary priority, and we are more than ready to take on any party or entity to ensure that our clients get justice.