The Center for American Liberty filed an amicus brief defending a fundamental American principle: powerful organizations cannot use the legal system to silence critics.
The case, Toni Marek v. Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, centers on an attempt to stop author Toni Marek from publishing a book critical of Phi Theta Kappa. The organization secured an ex parte temporary restraining order blocking publication of the book before Marek had an opportunity to fully defend herself in court.
After Marek responded with a motion under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA)—Texas’s anti-SLAPP law designed to protect free speech—Phi Theta Kappa dismissed the case and argued that Marek could not obtain attorney’s fees because the case was no longer pending.
As our amicus brief explains, the damage from these kinds of lawsuits targeting speech doesn’t simply disappear when a plaintiff walks away. These kinds of lawsuits can impose enormous financial and emotional costs, chill public debate, and intimidate authors, journalists, and whistleblowers into silence.