Colorado: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Colorado's anti-SLAPP law, enacted in 2019 and modeled closely on
California's, lets a defendant sued over an act "in furtherance of the right
of petition or free speech... in connection with a public issue" file a
special motion to dismiss early, before discovery grinds on. If the plaintiff
can't show a reasonable likelihood of prevailing, the claim is dismissed and
the defendant recovers attorney's fees.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Colorado's anti-SLAPP scheme lives in a single section, C.R.S. § 13-20-1101,
Part 11 of Article 20 in Title 13. The legislature enacted it in one piece in
2019 as HB 19-1324, effective July 1, 2019, and the section's official
history line shows no substantive amendment since — it's still the original
2019 text.

What speech or conduct is protected

The statute defines protected activity in four categories, closely tracking
California's model. It covers: (1) statements made before a legislative,
executive, or judicial proceeding, or any other official proceeding
authorized by law; (2) statements made in connection with an issue under
consideration or review by such a body; (3) statements made in a place open
to the public or a public forum in connection with an issue of public
interest; and (4) any other conduct or communication in furtherance of the
right of petition or free speech connected to a public issue or an issue of
public interest — a slightly broader catch-all than California's, which ties
its fourth category only to a "public issue."

The special motion to dismiss

File the special motion within 63 days of being served with the complaint
(three days longer than California's 60-day window); a court can allow a
later filing only "upon terms it deems proper." The court must schedule a
hearing within 28 days of when the motion itself is served, unless the
court's own docket conditions require a later date. Filing the motion
automatically stays all discovery in the case, and that stay lasts until the
court's ruling is entered — though a judge can still allow specific, limited
discovery for good cause shown.

Burden of proof

Colorado uses the same two-step test as California. First, the defendant
must show the challenged claim "arises from" an act in furtherance of
petition or free-speech rights on a public issue. Second, if the defendant
clears that bar, the plaintiff must show "a reasonable likelihood that the
plaintiff will prevail on the claim," based on the pleadings and any
supporting or opposing affidavits — not live testimony. Colorado courts have
treated "reasonable likelihood" as functionally equivalent to the "reasonable
probability" language other states use, though appellate panels have split
over exactly how much weight a trial court can give to conflicting evidence
at this stage — a live, unsettled question as of mid-2026.

Attorney's fees

A prevailing defendant on a special motion to dismiss is entitled to recover
attorney fees and costs — mandatory, not discretionary. The mirror-image
protection exists too: if the court finds the special motion itself was
frivolous or filed solely to cause delay, it must award the plaintiff costs
and fees instead. One carve-out: a defendant doesn't get fees under this
statute for beating a motion in an action brought under Colorado's Open
Meetings Law or Open Records Act, though those two laws have their own
separate fee provisions a defendant can still use.

Right to appeal

An order granting or denying the special motion can be appealed immediately
to the Colorado Court of Appeals, without waiting for the rest of the case to
finish. There is one statutory exception: if the trial court denies the
motion because it finds the action exempt under subsection (8) (the
exemptions described below), that particular denial cannot be appealed at
all under this statute. Separately — and this is not written into the
statute's own text — the Colorado Supreme Court held in February 2026 that
the statute's appeal provision is unconstitutional to the extent it lets the
Court of Appeals review a final judgment coming out of a county court;
Colorado's constitution sends county-court final judgments to district court
instead. A non-final county-court order on the motion can still go to the
Court of Appeals.

Exemptions

Three categories of lawsuit fall outside § 13-20-1101 entirely. First, an
action brought by or on behalf of the state or a subdivision of it, enforcing
a law or protecting against an imminent threat to health or public safety.
Second, an action brought solely in the public interest or on behalf of the
general public, if the plaintiff seeks no greater relief than the general
public would get, the suit would enforce an important public right and
confer a real public benefit, and private enforcement is necessary and would
otherwise unfairly burden the plaintiff. Third, claims against a person
primarily in the business of selling or leasing goods or services, arising
from factual representations about that person's (or a competitor's)
business made to secure a sale, lease, or commercial transaction, aimed at an
actual or potential customer. The second and third exemptions both have
carve-backs: they don't apply to journalists, reporters, or others connected
with a newspaper, periodical, or wire or broadcast service gathering news, or
to works of dramatic, literary, musical, political, or artistic expression,
including film, TV, or a newspaper or magazine article.

What trips people up

The 63-day clock is unforgiving, and it's not the same number as
California's. Attorneys used to California's 60-day rule sometimes assume
Colorado matches it; it doesn't, and courts read the "later time" exception
narrowly regardless.

A county-court win can still leave you appealing to the wrong court.
The statute's own text says any grant or denial of the motion goes to the
Court of Appeals, but the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in Hinds v. Foreman,
2026 CO 9, that this can't apply to a final judgment issued by a county
court — the state constitution requires those to go to district court
instead. If your case was filed in county court (common for smaller-value
disputes) and the special motion disposes of the whole case, don't assume
the Court of Appeals has jurisdiction; check whether the ruling is a final
judgment first.

Losing on an exemption ruling can be final immediately. Most special
motion rulings can be appealed right away. Subsection (9) specifically turns
that off when the loss is a denial based on one of the subsection (8)
exemptions — so if your motion is denied on exemption grounds, you don't get
the usual interlocutory appeal.

Common questions

Does filing the special motion stop the whole case, or just discovery?
Filing it stays discovery automatically. The underlying claims against you
stay on the docket until the court actually rules on the motion.

Can I use this if I'm sued over a critical online comment about a
business? Possibly, under the fourth, catch-all category of protected
activity — the statute covers "any other conduct or communication" that
furthers your free-speech rights on a public issue or an issue of public
interest, which Colorado's Court of Appeals has read broadly.

What if I lose the motion — do I have to pay the other side's fees?
Only if the court separately finds your motion was frivolous or filed solely
to delay the case. Losing on the merits alone doesn't trigger a fee award
against you.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-20-1101(3) — "A cause of action against a person
  arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person's right
  of petition or free speech under the United States constitution or the
  state constitution in connection with a public issue is subject to a
  special motion to dismiss unless the court determines that the plaintiff
  has established that there is a reasonable likelihood that the plaintiff
  will prevail on the claim." Source: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-20-1101(2)(a) — "\"Act in furtherance of a
  person's right of petition or free speech under the United States
  constitution or the state constitution in connection with a public issue\"
  includes... any other conduct or communication in furtherance of the
  exercise of the constitutional right of petition or the constitutional
  right of free speech in connection with a public issue or an issue of
  public interest." Source: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-20-1101(5)-(6) — "The special motion must be
  filed within sixty-three days after the service of the complaint or, in
  the court's discretion, at any later time upon terms it deems proper...
  All discovery proceedings in the action are stayed upon the filing of a
  notice of motion made pursuant to this section." Source:
  https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.htm (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-20-1101(4) — "[A] prevailing defendant on a
  special motion to dismiss is entitled to recover the defendant's attorney
  fees and costs. If the court finds that a special motion to dismiss is
  frivolous or is solely intended to cause unnecessary delay... the court
  shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff prevailing
  on the motion." Source: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.htm
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-20-1101(7), (9) — "Except as provided in
  subsection (9) of this section, an order granting or denying a special
  motion to dismiss is appealable to the Colorado court of appeals...
  If any trial court denies a special motion to dismiss on the grounds that
  the action or cause of action is exempt pursuant to subsection (8) of this
  section, the appeal provisions in subsection (7) of this section do not
  apply." Source: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.htm (accessed
  2026-07-05).
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-20-1101(8) — "This section does not apply to:
  An action brought by or on behalf of the state or any subdivision of the
  state enforcing a law or rule or seeking to protect against an imminent
  threat to health or public safety; Any action brought solely in the
  public interest or on behalf of the general public if all of [a 3-part
  test] exist; or Any cause of action brought against a person primarily
  engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or services...
  arising from [factual representations made to secure a sale or lease]."
  Source: https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.htm (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Hinds v. Foreman, 2026 CO 9 (Colo. Feb. 2, 2026) — "[Sections]
  13-20-1101 and 13-4-102.2... are unconstitutional to the extent that they
  authorize the court of appeals to review a final judgment of a county
  court. This is because article VI, section 17 of the Colorado
  Constitution explicitly requires that a final judgment of a county court
  be reviewed on appeal by this court or the district court." Source:
  https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2026-02/24SC698.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-05).