Prompted by this article in The Courier Journal, Rep. Nima Kulkarni tweeted earlier today:

"This is why we need anti-SLAPP legislation like BR13 in Kentucky, which I presented before the Interim Joint Judiciary Committee in August. It would provide an expedited way to identify and dismiss frivolous lawsuits without costly litigation dragging on for years."

The Courier reports:

"The same developer who sued three families and their law firm for $12 million, claiming they delayed his planned Fern Creek 'retail and lifestyle center,' also has sued another neighbor for defaming him and the project.

"In a case that's been pending for four years, Frank Csapo and his partners accuse Steve Marion of trespassing on their SouthPointe Commons Center and falsely telling local, state and federal agencies it sits on a burial site and the company lacked permits to clear it.

"Marion has denied Csapo's claims, including that he harassed construction workers and blocked bulldozers and other equipment.

"'Steve is a disabled veteran and cannot afford costly litigation,' the pleading says. 'He has been forced to endure years of uncertainty with this punitive and vindictive suit hanging over his head.'

"[T]he company 'vehemently denies that the lawsuit has been brought for any reason other than to pursue its rights and recover damages incurred by Mr. Marion's significant interference with Southpointe Commons.'"

The Kentucky Open Government Coalition supports Rep. Kulkarni's anti-SLAPP bill, in part, because open records requesters in Kentucky have been the intended victims of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP).

https://cases.justia.com/kentucky/court-of-appeals/2020-2019-ca-000152-…