Alabama
This guide was authored by Zivile Raskauskaite, Skye Lucas, and Sara George, working with Professor Jared Schroeder at the Missouri School of Journalism. Grant support for this project was provided by the Society to Protect Journalists and the Reynolds Journalism Institute.
Anti-SLAPP Protection: Alabama does not have an anti-SLAPP statute.
Helpful cases: While Alabama courts have never referred to SLAPPs in their decisions, the following cases demonstrate instances in which publisher defendants were successful in gaining dismissal of defamation lawsuits in the state.
- Little v. Consol. Pub. Co., 83 So. 3d 517 (Ala. Civ. App. 2011): In this lawsuit by a city councilman against a newspaper alleging libel resulting from the newspaper’s publication of a rumor told to the reporter by another city councilman, the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendant newspaper because the plaintiff (a public official) failed to prove actual malice. The appellate court affirmed.
- McCaig v. Talladega Pub. Co., 544 So. 2d 875 (Ala. 1989): An article in Daily Home, published by Talladega Publishing Company, reported “irregularities” had been found in an inspection completed by Coosa Valley Co-op Board officers into meters at several businesses. The trial court found that the undisputed facts showed the article to be true in the “most literal sense,” and “because truth is always an absolute defense to any action for libel or slander,” the contested statements could not be defamatory. Id. at 878. The trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment to defendants on the defamation claim and related “conspiracy to libel” claim was affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court.
Legislative activity: While Alabama has attempted to pass bills regarding frivolous lawsuits in the past, lawmakers have not considered passing an anti-SLAPP statute.
Additional notes: While Alabama has no anti-SLAPP suit, the state does have a statute imposing monetary sanctions for filers of frivolous lawsuits: “if the action is brought by a private citizen and the court finds that the action was frivolous or motivated by bad faith, costs and attorney fees may be taxed to the person.” Ala. Code § 6-5-156.5. But it appears that this statute has never been applied to award fees to a defamation defendant. Likewise, it does not appear that Rule 11 of the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure (requiring attorneys to sign filed papers to certify a “belief there is good ground to support” the filing) has been a basis for awarding fees to a defamation defendant in the state at any time.