Brice Estates, Inc. v. Smith

Shortly after the defendants, Alan F. Smith and James Donaldson, submitted documentation to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program (program) delaying the plaintiff’s efforts to complete its development project, the plaintiff filed suit alleging trespass.2 A judge of the Superior Court denied the defendants’ special motion to dismiss under G. L. c. 231, § 59H, the “anti-SLAPP” statute, on the ground that the suit was not based solely upon protected petitioning activity. We now consider the defendants’ interlocutory appeal from…