SLAPP
A Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation ("SLAPP") was originally defined as a lawsuit involving communications made to influence a governmental action or outcome, which resulted in a civil complaint or counterclaim filed against nongovernment individuals or organizations on a substantive issue of some public interest or social significance. It has been defined more broadly by some to include suits arising from speech in connection with a public issue. This form of litigation is frequently filed by organizations or individuals to intimidate and silence critics or opponents by burdening them with the cost of a legal defence so that they abandon their criticism or opposition. The acronym was coined in the 1980s by University of Denver professors Penelope Canan and George W. Pring.
The McLibel case is the colloquial term for McDonald's Restaurants v Morris and Steel, a long-running English court action for libel filed by McDonald's Corporation against environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris (often referred to as "The McLibel Two") over a pamphlet critical of the company. The original case, considered by many scholars[attribution needed] to be a Strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), lasted seven years, making it the longest-running court action in English history. Although McDonald's had technically won two separate hearings of the case in the English courts, the partial nature of the victory and drawn-out litigation has turned the case into a matter of serious embarrassment for the company. Because of this, McDonald's has repeatedly announced that it has no plans to collect the £40,000 it was awarded by the courts. Since then, certain aspects of the trial have been declared by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to be in violation of the Convention on Human Rights and on 15 February 2005, the pair's 20-year battle (and 11-year court battle) with the company concluded when the ECHR ruled that the original case had breached Article 6 (right to a fair trial) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered that the UK government pay the McLibel couple £57,000 in compensation.
The latest case involving SLAPP in the Gunns 20. Gunns Limited is a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1875 by brothers John and Thomas Gunn, it is one of Australia's oldest companies. It has over 900 square kilometres of plantations, mainly eucalyptus trees. It is Tasmania’s largest private land-owner. The company employs over 1200 people and has a turnover in excess of AUS$600 million. Gunns is the largest woodchipper in the Southern Hemisphere, with a monopoly in Tasmania's forest industry. Gunns also runs retail stores throughout Tasmania including several Mitre 10 outlets and the Tamar Ridge winery.
The company has been the focus of criticism from environmentalists, primarily for its four woodchip mills which produce 4 million tonnes of chips for export annually. Green groups claim that native forests are harvested specifically for woodchipping, whereas Gunns claim that the majority of their chips come from residue from their sawmilling and veneer operations. Gunns' major customers are paper producers in Northern Asia, mainly Japan, including Mitsubishi, Nippon and Oji Paper. Gunns has also been criticized for its logging operations in the Styx Valley and for its use of 1080 poison to kill wildlife including protected species (laying of baits and particularly aerial spraying of forest prior to clearfelling). In 1989, the chairman of Gunns, Edmund Rouse, attempted to bribe a Labor member, Jim Cox, to cross the floor, bringing down the Tasmanian government and clearing the way for pro-logging former premier Robin Gray and the Liberal Party to resume power. A Royal Commission followed and convicted Rouse. Robin Gray is now a director of Gunns Limited.
In Gunns Limited v Marr and Ors, Gunns filed a writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria, against 20 individuals and organisations including Senator Bob Brown, for over 7.8 million dollars.
The original list of defendants was:
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Bob Brown - federal Greens senator (dropped December 2006)
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Simon Brown Adam Burling - Huon Valley Environment Centre
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Brian Dimmick Doctors for Native Forests Inc. (dropped November 2006)
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Heidi Douglas - The Wilderness Society (TWS)
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Neal Funnell Helen Gee (dropped November 2006)
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Lou Geraghty
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Russell Hanson - TWS the Huon Valley Environment Centre Inc.
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Geoff Law - TWS Alec Marr - TWS
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Leanne Minshull - formerly of TWS
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Louise Morris
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Ben Morrow
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Frank Nicklason
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Peter Pullinger (dropped November 2006)
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Margaret (Peg) Putt - Greens MHA (dropped December 2006)
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The Wilderness Society Inc.
Gunns claims that the defendants have sullied its reputation and caused it to lose jobs and profits. The defendants claim that they are protecting the environment. The defendants have become collectively known as the Gunns 20. Opponents and critics of the case have suggested that the writ was filed with the intent to discourage public criticism of the company, in a similar vein to a Strategic lawsuit against public participation, commonly used in North America, and the English McLibel case of McDonald's Restaurants against environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris over a pamphlet critical of the company. Gunns has maintained the position that they are merely trying to prevent parties enjoined to the writ from undertaking unlawful activities that disrupt their business.
At a hearing before the Supreme Court of Victoria, an amended statement of claim lodged by the company and served on defendants on July 1, 2005 was dismissed. However, the judge in the case granted the company leave to lodge a third version of their statement of claim with the court no later than August 15, 2005. The application continued before the court, before being brought to a close on October 20, 2006. In his ruling, The Honourable Justice Bongiorno, made an award of costs in favour of the respondents only as far as it covered those costs incurred with the striking out the third version of the statement of claim, and costs incurred associated with their application for costs. In November 2006, Gunns dropped the case against Helen Gee, Peter Pullinger and Doctors for Forests. In December 2006, it abandoned the claim against Greens MPs Bob Brown and Peg Putt.
