Kaiser PLLC Partner Courtney Forrest Wins Total Victory for Client in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
On December 1 – just six weeks after oral argument – the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous decision completely vindicating Kaiser PLLC client George Nader. (The case is summarized in a previous News item here). In an unpublished memorandum disposition, the Court held that Mr. Nader’s public statements urging the United States to take policy positions against the State of Qatar were protected activity in furtherance of his right to free speech and protected by California’s anti-SLAPP statute. It thus affirmed the district’s count’s order granting Mr. Nader’s motion to strike the claims against him for unfair competition and trade libel under California state law.
The Court also rejected the plaintiffs’ claim that the “illegal speech exception” precluded Mr. Nader from bringing an anti-SLAPP motion. Plaintiffs’ mere allegations that Mr. Nader had violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) did not meet the standard for the exception, which requires a showing of “uncontroverted and conclusive illegality.” Mr. Nader has steadfastly and vigorously denied any wrongdoing with respect to his stance on Qatar, and thus the Court correctly found that this exception did not bar him from invoking the protections of the anti-SLAPP statute.
The Court also affirmed Mr. Nader’s argument that an alleged FARA violation cannot serve as the predicate for liability under California’s unfair competition law because FARA’s enforcement scheme, coupled with its focus on sensitive issues of national defense and foreign relations, precludes private enforcement.
Kaiser Partner Courtney Forrest represented Mr. Nader in both the district court and the Ninth Circuit.
