Anti-SLAPP Laws in Georgia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute is O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.1, originally enacted in 1996 (Ga. L. 1996, p. 260). In 2016, the General Assembly rewrote it wholesale (Ga. L. 2016, p. 341, Act 420, effective July 1, 2016) to "substantially track" California's anti-SLAPP procedure, Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16 — closely enough that Georgia courts look to California case law for guidance in applying it. The current statutory history ends with the 2016 rewrite, and the current bill sweep found no later amendment to § 9-11-11.1. The broad-construction directive is in § 9-11-11.1(a).

What speech or conduct is protected

The 2016 rewrite expanded the statute's scope from a narrow rule covering only statements connected to official government proceedings — the reading the Georgia Supreme Court gave the old law in Berryhill v. Georgia Community Support & Solutions — to four broad categories: statements before a legislative, executive, judicial, or other official proceeding; statements on an issue under consideration or review by such a body; statements made in a place open to the public or a public forum on an issue of public interest or concern; and a catch-all covering any other conduct furthering the right of petition or free speech on a public issue. That last category is what lets the statute reach online reviews, social media posts, and neighborhood petitions that have nothing to do with a formal government proceeding. The four categories are in § 9-11-11.1(c)(1)-(4).

The special motion

Georgia's statute doesn't set its own filing deadline for the motion the way California (60 days) or Ohio (60 days) do — an unusual gap among anti-SLAPP states, so don't assume a specific deadline exists just because other states have one. Once filed, the motion automatically stays "all discovery and any pending hearings or motions in the action" until a final decision, and the court must hear the motion itself within 30 days of service unless emergency matters require a later date. A court can allow specified discovery to proceed anyway on a noticed motion and a showing of good cause. These rules are in § 9-11-11.1(d).

Burden of proof

The analysis is two steps. First, the moving party must show the claim arises from an act that "could reasonably be construed" as furthering the right of petition or free speech on an issue of public interest or concern — a relatively easy threshold to clear. If that showing is made, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party (usually the plaintiff) to establish "a probability that the nonmoving party will prevail on the claim," judged from the pleadings and any supporting or opposing affidavits. If the plaintiff is arguing the defendant is a public figure, the plaintiff gets limited discovery on the sole issue of actual malice when that issue matters to the court's ruling. The two-step standard begins in § 9-11-11.1(b)(1).

Attorney's fees

A prevailing movant recovers attorney's fees and litigation expenses, with the amount left to the court's judgment based on the facts of the case — mandatory in principle, but not a fixed formula. If the motion is denied, the nonmoving party (usually the plaintiff) only recovers fees if the court separately finds the motion was frivolous or filed solely to cause delay. Any fee request must be made by motion no later than 45 days after the action's final disposition. The award rule is § 9-11-11.1(b.1), and the fee-motion deadline is § 9-11-11.1(h).

Right to appeal

Unlike states that give special interlocutory-appeal treatment only to a denial, Georgia's statute makes an order granting or denying the motion directly appealable as of right, incorporating the state's general direct-appeal statute. Neither side has to wait for the rest of the case to finish before appealing the ruling on the motion. The authorization is in § 9-11-11.1(e).

Exemptions

The statute names only one exemption: it doesn't apply to an action brought by the Attorney General, a prosecuting attorney, or a city attorney acting as a prosecutor to enforce laws aimed at protecting the public. There's no carve-out for commercial speech, consumer claims, or products-liability suits of the kind several other states' statutes include. The exemption is § 9-11-11.1(g).

What trips people up

There's no statutory filing-deadline clock to watch. Practitioners used to California's 60-day window or Ohio's 60-day window sometimes assume Georgia has something similar — it doesn't. The only fixed deadlines in the statute are the 30-day hearing requirement and the 45-day fee-motion window after final disposition.

"Could reasonably be construed" is a deliberately easy bar for the movant. The Georgia Supreme Court has made clear this first step doesn't require weighing evidence — a defendant clears it by showing the claim fits one of the four categories in subsection (c), even if the underlying facts are disputed. The real fight is almost always at the second step, where the plaintiff must show a probability of prevailing.

Georgia looks to California case law to fill gaps. Because the 2016 rewrite tracks California's statute so closely, Georgia courts have said they'll look to California decisions interpreting Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16 for guidance on questions the Georgia courts haven't yet answered themselves.

Common questions

Does filing the motion stop the whole case, or just discovery? The statute stays "all discovery and any pending hearings or motions" once the motion is filed — broader than a discovery-only stay, though it doesn't formally dismiss anything until the court rules.

How fast do I need to file the motion after being served? The statute doesn't say. Because there's no statutory deadline, timing is governed by ordinary civil-procedure practice and any scheduling order in the case — file promptly, since delay can undercut the argument that the suit is genuinely chilling protected speech.

What if I lose the motion — do I owe the other side's fees? Only if the court separately finds your motion was frivolous or filed solely to delay the case. An ordinary loss on the merits of the motion doesn't by itself create a fee obligation.

Statutes and sources

• O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.1(a)-(h). Current text of the protected-activity categories, motion and burden, stay and hearing clock, fee rules, appeal, prosecutor exemption, and fee-motion deadline. Public-domain OCGA text (accessed August 16, 2026).
• O.C.G.A. § 5-6-34(a)(13). The current enacted text preserves direct appeal for all judgments and orders entered under § 9-11-11.1. Official 2025 S.B. 298 text (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 425.16. California's current statute supplies the comparison procedure and its 60-day filing rule. Official Legislative Counsel publication (accessed August 16, 2026).
• Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. v. LTC Consulting, L.P., 306 Ga. 252 (2019). The Georgia Supreme Court states that the 2016 revision substantially tracks California's procedure. Opinion (accessed August 16, 2026).