On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the Court of Appeals will hear argument in Gottwald v Sebert, APL-2022-82 and APL-2021-131, which presents the following issues of interest to commercial litigators:
Whether the legislature intended for its 2020 amendments to the anti-strategic lawsuit against public participation (anti-SLAPP) law (see Civil Rights Law §§ 70-a, 76-a) to apply retroactively to claims pending at the time the amendments became effective.
Whether plaintiff Gottwald is a general or limited public figure; whether there is a “sham” exception to the litigation privilege, the pre-litigation privilege, or the privilege codified at Civil Rights Law § 74 and, if so, whether that exception applies.