'Completely fails': Central Park Five say Trump's attorney cited the wrong law in effort to dismiss defamation case

Source: Law & Crime

Nov 23rd, 2024, 11:20 am


The Central Park Five say President-elect Donald Trump is wrong on the law as he seeks to dismiss their defamation lawsuit against him over comments made during the presidential debate earlier this year.

In a letter motion filed in a Pennsylvania federal court on Friday, attorneys for the famously falsely-accused quintet said they “intend to oppose Defendant’s forthcoming Motion to Dismiss in its entirety.”

On Nov. 20, Trump requested a conference in anticipation of filing a motion to dismiss based on a failure to state a claim under the federal rules and the Keystone State’s anti-SLAPP statute — a state law that bars actions intended to chill free speech. Many states refer to such litigation as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) and have created an easy vehicle to dismiss them at the outset.

Attorneys for the Central Park Five, however, say Trump’s attorney incorrectly invoked the anti-SLAPP law. “Defendant invokes Pennsylvania’s anti-SLAPP statute,” the motion reads. “While the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has not yet spoken on this issue, district courts within the Third Circuit have concluded that state anti-SLAPP statutes do not apply in federal court.”

Read more: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/completely-fails-central-park-five-say-trumps-attorney-cited-the-wrong-law-in-effort-to-dismiss-defamation-case-insist-debate-comments-were-fabricated-from-whole-cloth/