Connecticut: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Connecticut's anti-SLAPP statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a, protects your
exercise of free speech, the right to petition the government, or the right
of association on a matter of public concern. A 2025 amendment, effective
October 1, 2025, broadened "free speech" to also cover good-faith written
reports of a crime or of workplace discrimination — not just public-forum
speech. File a special motion to dismiss within 30 days of the return date
of the complaint. Filing it automatically stays discovery. The plaintiff can
only survive the motion by laying out the circumstances of the claim with
particularity and showing "probable cause," considering all valid defenses,
that the plaintiff will prevail — a distinctive Connecticut standard.
Prevailing movants get mandatory fees, and Connecticut courts have held
that a denial is immediately appealable.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Connecticut's anti-SLAPP statute is Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a, enacted in
2017 (effective January 1, 2018) and amended in 2019 with a technical
phrasing fix. A 2025 amendment (Public Act 25-77, effective October 1,
2025, and already in force) repealed and replaced the whole section: it
broadened what counts as protected "free speech" and added a new exception
to the 60-day hearing deadline. Connecticut's own compiled statute pages
had not yet caught up to this amendment as of this page's verification date
— the current, controlling text comes directly from the enacted Public Act.

What speech or conduct is protected

The Act covers your exercise of the right of free speech, the right to
petition the government, or the right of association, on a matter of
public concern, under either the U.S. or Connecticut Constitution. "Free
speech" originally meant only communicating (or conduct furthering
communication) in a public forum on a matter of public concern. Since
October 1, 2025, it also covers a good-faith written communication about
an alleged crime, or about a "discriminatory practice" as Connecticut's
fair-employment law defines it — neither of those two new categories
requires a public forum. "Matter of public concern" is defined broadly:
health or safety, environmental/economic/community well-being, government
or zoning matters, a public official or figure, or an audiovisual work.

The special motion to dismiss

File within 30 days of the return date of the complaint, or of the
counterclaim or cross claim, extendable for good cause. Filing the motion
automatically stays all discovery — through any interlocutory appeal — with
limited discovery still available on a good-cause showing. The court must
hold an expedited hearing within 60 days of filing, unless the court has
ordered discovery, the parties agree to a later date, the court can't fit
the hearing in for good cause, or — as of the 2025 amendment — the
free-speech claim is based on a written crime report or discrimination
complaint that's tied to a pending criminal case or Commission on Human
Rights proceeding, in which case the hearing waits until 60 days after that
proceeding wraps up.

Burden of proof

You, as the moving party, first show by a preponderance of the evidence
that the claim is based on your exercise of a protected right. The court
must then grant the motion unless the plaintiff sets forth, with
particularity, the circumstances giving rise to the claim, and shows
"probable cause" — considering all valid defenses — that the plaintiff will
prevail on the merits. That's a distinctive standard: not the bare
"prima facie case" some states require, and not the heightened
"clear and specific evidence" test used elsewhere, but a probable-cause
showing that has to survive any valid defense you raise.

Attorney's fees

If the court grants your motion, it must award you costs and reasonable
attorney's fees, including fees for bringing the motion itself. Going the
other way, the plaintiff only gets fees if the court both denies your
motion and finds it was frivolous and solely intended to cause unnecessary
delay — both conditions have to be met, not just one.

Right to appeal

The statute doesn't spell out an appeal right directly, but its discovery
stay is written to last through "any interlocutory appeal" of the ruling —
implying one exists. The Connecticut Supreme Court settled the question in
2023: a denial resting on a "colorable claim" that the underlying conduct
was protected is an immediately appealable final judgment under Connecticut's
general test for what counts as final for appeal purposes.

Exemptions

The statute doesn't apply to an enforcement action the Attorney General
brings in the state's name. It doesn't limit a court's other power to
award sanctions or fees, and doesn't affect any other defense, remedy,
immunity, privilege, or the substantive law governing the claim. It creates
no new private right of action. And it doesn't apply to a common-law or
statutory bodily-injury or wrongful-death claim — except that exclusion
doesn't reach an emotional-distress claim that's unrelated to (or not
combined with) a bodily-injury/wrongful-death claim, or a defamation,
libel, or slander claim. Even a plaintiff suing for bodily injury or
wrongful death can still use the special motion against a counterclaim.

What trips people up

Connecticut's compiled statute pages may lag a fresh amendment. The
2025 amendment to § 52-196a took effect October 1, 2025, but Connecticut's
own "current" statute compilation hadn't yet folded it in as of this page's
last check. Don't assume a state's official code site is instantly current
the moment a Public Act takes effect — check the act itself when in doubt.

The new crime-report and discrimination-report categories don't need a
"public forum." The original 2017 statute only protected speech in a
public forum. The 2025 additions are different in kind: a private,
good-faith written report about an alleged crime or discriminatory
practice is now covered even if it was never made publicly.

"Probable cause" isn't the same test other states use. Don't assume
Connecticut requires "clear and specific evidence" (Texas/Oklahoma-style)
or a bare prima facie showing (some UPEPA states). The plaintiff has to
clear a probable-cause bar that expressly accounts for any valid defense
you've raised — a real, if not maximal, hurdle.

Common questions

Does this protect me if I report a coworker's harassment in writing?
Likely yes, since October 1, 2025 — a good-faith written communication
about a "discriminatory practice" is now its own protected category,
without needing to show it was made in a public forum.

Can I appeal right away if my motion is denied? Connecticut courts
have held yes, at least where the denial rests on a colorable claim that
your conduct was protected — that's treated as an immediately appealable
final judgment.

If my motion is denied, do I owe the other side's fees? Only if the
court also finds your motion was frivolous and solely intended to cause
delay. A denial on the merits alone doesn't trigger fee-shifting against
you.

Statutes and sources

• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a(a)-(b) (as amended by 2025 Conn. Pub. Acts
  25-77, § 1, eff. 10/1/2025) — "(a)... (2) 'Right of free speech' means
  (A) communicating, or conduct furthering communication, in a public
  forum on a matter of public concern, (B) written communication made by
  an individual, without actual malice, concerning the alleged commission
  of a crime, or (C) written communication, made by an individual without
  actual malice, concerning a discriminatory practice as defined in
  section 46a-51... (b) In any civil action in which a party files a
  complaint, counterclaim or cross claim against an opposing party that is
  based on the opposing party's exercise of its right of free speech,
  right to petition the government, or right of association... in
  connection with a matter of public concern, such opposing party may file
  a special motion to dismiss..." Source:
  https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/ACT/PA/PDF/2025PA-00077-R00HB-07134-PA.PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a(c)-(d) — "(c) Any party filing a special
  motion to dismiss shall file such motion not later than thirty days
  after the return date of the complaint, or the filing of a counterclaim
  or cross claim... (d) The court shall stay all discovery upon the filing
  of a special motion to dismiss. The stay of discovery shall remain in
  effect until the court grants or denies the special motion to dismiss
  and any interlocutory appeal thereof." Source:
  https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/ACT/PA/PDF/2025PA-00077-R00HB-07134-PA.PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a(e) — "(1) The court shall conduct an
  expedited hearing on a special motion to dismiss. The expedited hearing
  shall be held not later than sixty days after the date of filing...
  unless... (D) the written communication specified in subdivision (2) or
  (3) of subsection (a) of this section relates to a pending criminal
  proceeding or a discriminatory practice complaint pending with the
  Commission on Human Rights... (3) The court shall grant a special motion
  to dismiss if the moving party makes an initial showing, by a
  preponderance of the evidence, that the... claim is based on the moving
  party's exercise of [a protected right]... unless the party that brought
  the complaint... sets forth with particularity the circumstances giving
  rise to the complaint... and demonstrates to the court that there is
  probable cause, considering all valid defenses, that the party will
  prevail on the merits..." Source:
  https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/ACT/PA/PDF/2025PA-00077-R00HB-07134-PA.PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a(f) — "(1) If the court grants a special
  motion to dismiss under this section, the court shall award the moving
  party costs and reasonable attorney's fees... (2) If the court denies a
  special motion to dismiss under this section and finds that such special
  motion to dismiss is frivolous and solely intended to cause unnecessary
  delay, the court shall award costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the
  party opposing such special motion to dismiss." Source:
  https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/ACT/PA/PDF/2025PA-00077-R00HB-07134-PA.PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-196a(h) — "The provisions of this section
  shall not: (1) Apply to an enforcement action that is brought in the
  name of the state or a political subdivision of the state by the
  Attorney General... (6) apply to a common law or statutory claim for
  bodily injury or wrongful death, except the exclusion provided in this
  subdivision shall not apply to claims for (A) emotional distress
  unrelated to bodily injury or wrongful death... or (B) defamation, libel
  or slander." Source:
  https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/ACT/PA/PDF/2025PA-00077-R00HB-07134-PA.PDF
  (accessed 2026-07-05).