Philip Shelton v. Nancy Pavon

We granted the writ application to determine whether the court of appeal erred in reversing the trial court's ruling granting the plaintiff's special motion to strike defendant's reconventional demand for defamation, pursuant to La. Code Civ. Pro. art. 971, the so-called anti-SLAPP statute, where the appellate court found that plaintiff's petition did not involve a "public issue." For the reasons expressed below, we find the court of appeal was correct in reversing the trial court's ruling. We hold that La. Code Civ. Pro. art. 971(F)(1)(a), which states that "[a]ny written or oral statement…