Ellison’s Response To FBI Anti-SLAPP Motion

A poster at The Comics Journal message board points to an on-line repository of legal documents filed by representatives for Harlan Ellison regarding his lawsuit against Fantagraphics, Gary Groth, and Kim Thompson. Included is the plaintiff's response to the motion to strike filed by defense counsel.

The plaintiff's response contends that Ellison's suit against Fantagraphics is not governed by the anti-SLAPP statute, as Ellison's action is not a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" but instead constitutes

"a defamation action based on misstatements or distortions of fact by Defendants with a long history of demonstrated antipathy and outright malice toward this particular Plaintiff, and an accompanying misappropriation claim for flagrant, taunting, unauthorized use of Plaintiff's name under California's 'right of publicity' statute."

The plaintiff goes on to claim that Ellison's claims against the defendants meet minimal standards of merit to exempt them from a SLAPP characterization.

Continuing with the defendants' anti-SLAPP claims, the plaintiff contends that the matters in question in the suit are not matters of public interest as defined by anti-SLAPP, that an anti-SLAPP-based dismissal cannot be issued in response to an entire claim in response to a portion of it, and that Ellison's claims of defamation (based on what Ellison contends are Groth's mischaracterization of events surrounding the Michael Fleisher lawsuit in the upcoming Comics as Art: We Told You So) constitute reasonable legal recourse and not an attempt to chill ongoing discourse about a matter of public interest.

The site also archives declarations from Ellison, Pat Lyons (Ellison's attorney of record in the Fleisher suit), and Charles Petit (Ellison's general counsel) that outline Ellison's perspective on his contentious relationship with the defendants and the events surrounding the Fleisher suit.

The defendants' response to Ellison's filing was due Monday, Dec. 18. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Feb. 18.

This entry was written and placed by David P. Welsh as a favor to this site, without editorial intrusion
 
posted 3:47 am PST | Permalink
 

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