Blog : TCPA

Is a petition a “petition”? That’s the question raised in the recent case Florez v. Olibas, No. 08-19-00302-CV (Tex. App.—El Paso July 26, 2022, no pet. h.). Let me explain. The Texas Citizens Participation Act (the “TCPA”) is the Texas “anti-SLAPP” statute. I used to write a lot of blog posts about the TCPA, and then I stopped when it became less relevant to my practice. You can read a recap at Shrinkage: TX Legislature and 5th Circuit Cut the TCPA Down to Size. In a nutshell, if the TCPA applies to a lawsuit, then it gives the defendant an […]

The Texas legislature amended the TCPA to exempt most non-compete and trade secret claims. So is there anything left of the statute that applies to departing employee litigation?

The Texas legislature, the Dallas Court of Appeals, and the Fifth Circuit have combined to tame the statute that once swept through Texas litigation like a prairie fire.

Back in my day, there was only one night when you could watch NFL action: Monday. Once Don Meredith started signing “Turn Out the Lights . . .” that was all the pro football you were going to get until the next Sunday. There was no “Thursday Night Football,” or even “Football Night in America.” And we liked it. The other thing we did back in the good old days, meaning roughly 2017 until now, was file a TCPA motion to dismiss in a lawsuit that wasn’t really about “freedom of speech” or “freedom of association,” at least not in […]

The Dallas and Fort Worth Court of Appeals don’t think the TCPA applies to ordinary claims of conspiracy or misappropriation of confidential information.

Proposed legislation would limit the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) to its stated purpose of protecting constitutional rights, and would exempt non-compete suits.

Does the First Amendment protect the right to burn the American flag? Well, it depends. Consider three scenarios: A Boy Scout troop burns a worn-out American flag because that is the proper and respectful way to dispose of it. See 4 U.S.C. § 8(k) (“The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”) A radical burns the flag at a lawful protest while yelling “down with American imperialism” (which tells you the radical is probably old enough to qualify for Medicare). […]

In a concurring opinion in Gaskamp v. WSP, Justice Terry Jennings criticized the Texas Supreme Court’s literal interpretation of the TCPA.

It’s Franken-steen First let’s get something out of the way. The Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA) is a Frankenstein’s monster that the legislature created and now needs to reign in (not that they listen to me). As I explained in a three-part series back in the summer of 2017, the TCPA grants defendants in certain cases the unusual right to require the plaintiff to prove its case before taking any discovery. In litigator jargon, it effectively lets the defendant file a “no-evidence” motion for summary judgment without first requiring an adequate time for discovery. The statute was intended to curtail […]

Will it become routine for defendants in Texas trade secrets lawsuits to file motions to dismiss under the TCPA?