Idaho: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Idaho has an anti-SLAPP law now, but it's brand new. Idaho Code
§§ 6-3901 to 6-3911, the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act
(UPEPA), took effect January 1, 2026 — before that, Idaho had no
anti-SLAPP statute at all (a 2024 attempt was voted down in the Senate).
A defendant sued over a communication in a government proceeding, on an
issue under government review, or over protected speech, press,
petition, assembly, or association activity on a matter of public
concern can file a "special motion for expedited relief" within 60 days
of being served. Filing automatically pauses discovery and most other
proceedings. The court must hold a hearing within 60 days and rule
within 60 days after that. The claim gets dismissed with prejudice
unless the plaintiff can show a real case on every element, or otherwise
survive an ordinary dismissal or summary-judgment test. Whoever wins the
motion gets their costs, fees, and litigation expenses paid by the other
side. A losing defendant can appeal right away, within 42 days, and
that appeal automatically freezes the whole case.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Idaho's anti-SLAPP statute is Idaho Code §§ 6-3901 to 6-3911, a version
of the Uniform Law Commission's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act
(UPEPA). The legislature passed it as Senate Bill 1001 in 2025; the
governor signed it March 10, 2025, and it became effective January 1,
2026. Idaho had never had an anti-SLAPP statute before this — an earlier
2024 bill covering similar ground was rejected by the state Senate.

What speech or conduct is protected

The Act covers a lawsuit based on a communication in a legislative,
executive, judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding; a
communication on an issue under consideration or review by one of those
bodies; or the exercise of your right to free speech, free press,
assembly, petition, or association on a matter of public concern. This
is the broad, standard UPEPA scope — it isn't limited to statements
addressed to government the way some older state laws are.

The special motion procedure

A defendant files a "special motion for expedited relief" no later than
60 days after being served with the pleading (or later, if the court
finds good cause). Filing the motion automatically stays discovery and
essentially all other proceedings between the parties — the stay isn't
something you have to ask for separately. A court can still hear
unrelated motions, requests for a public-health-or-safety injunction, or
let a party voluntarily dismiss a claim during the stay, and it can
allow limited discovery only if a party shows specific information is
genuinely necessary to the motion and isn't otherwise available. The
court must hold a hearing within 60 days of the filing and must rule
within 60 days after that hearing.

Burden of proof

The court works through two questions. First, the moving party has to
show the Act covers the claim, and the responding party has to fail to
show that an exemption applies. Second, the court must dismiss the claim
with prejudice if EITHER the responding party can't establish a prima
facie case on every essential element of the claim, OR the moving party
separately shows the claim fails to state a cause of action at all, or
that there's no genuine factual dispute and the moving party wins as a
matter of law. The court decides this on the pleadings, the motion
papers, and any evidence that would be admissible on a summary-judgment
motion.

Attorney's fees

Fee-shifting runs both directions, but only for costs tied to the
motion itself. If the moving party wins the motion, the court must award
it court costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and litigation expenses
related to the motion. If the responding party wins the motion instead,
and the court finds the motion was frivolous or filed only to delay the
case, the responding party gets the same kind of award.

Right to appeal

A moving party who loses the motion — in whole or in part — can appeal
as a matter of right, without waiting for the rest of the case to
finish. The appeal must be filed within 42 days of the order, which is
longer than the appeal window some other UPEPA states use, so don't
assume every UPEPA state gives you the same number of days. Filing that
appeal automatically pauses the entire case, for every party, until the
appeal is decided.

Exemptions

Three carve-outs remove a case from the Act's coverage entirely: a claim
against a government body or a government employee/agent acting in an
official capacity; a claim brought BY a government body or employee, in
an official capacity, to enforce a law protecting against an imminent
threat to public health or safety; and a claim against someone
"primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or
services" where the claim arises from a communication tied to that
person's own sale or lease of goods or services.

What trips people up

This law is brand new — there's essentially no Idaho case law yet
interpreting it. Courts elsewhere applying the same UPEPA model text
may be persuasive, but Idaho's own appellate courts haven't weighed in.

The 42-day appeal window is longer than in some other UPEPA states —
don't assume a uniform deadline. Miss your own state's specific
window and you lose the interlocutory appeal right even though the
underlying motion procedure looks identical from state to state.

The automatic discovery stay isn't absolute. A court can still allow
narrow, specifically justified discovery during the stay, and the stay
doesn't block unrelated motions or an emergency public-health-and-safety
injunction request.

Fee-shifting is limited to the motion itself, not the whole
lawsuit. Win the special motion and you recover costs and fees "related
to the motion" — not necessarily everything you spent defending the
broader case if some claims survive.

Common questions

Does this cover a lawsuit over a comment I posted online criticizing a
local project? Likely yes, if the comment concerns a matter of public
concern or a proceeding before a government body, and the lawsuit is
based on that comment.

Can I still be sued if I run a business and made a statement about my
own products or services? The Act's business exemption only applies to
a claim against someone in the business of selling or leasing goods or
services where the claim arises from a communication about that sale or
lease — commentary unrelated to your own commercial transactions isn't
automatically excluded.

If my special motion is denied, do I have to wait until the whole case
is over to appeal? No — you can appeal right away, within 42 days of
the order, and that appeal pauses the entire case until it's resolved.

Statutes and sources

• Idaho Code § 6-3902(2)-(3) — "the provisions of this chapter shall
  apply to a cause of action asserted in a civil action against a person
  based on the person's: (a) Communication in a legislative, executive,
  judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding... The
  provisions of this chapter shall not apply to a cause of action
  asserted: (a) Against a governmental unit or an employee or agent of a
  governmental unit acting or purporting to act in an official
  capacity..." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3902/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3903 — "No later than sixty (60) days after a party
  is served with a complaint... that asserts a cause of action to which
  this chapter applies... the party may file a special motion for
  expedited relief to dismiss the cause of action or part of the cause
  of action." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3903/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3904(1), (3), (4) — "upon the filing of a motion
  pursuant to section 6-3903... All other proceedings between the moving
  party and responding party, including discovery and a pending hearing
  or motion, are stayed... if a party appeals an order ruling on a motion
  pursuant to section 6-3903... all proceedings between all parties in
  the action are stayed." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3904/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3905(1) — "The court shall hear a motion pursuant to
  section 6-3903... no later than sixty (60) days after filing of the
  motion, unless the court orders a later hearing..." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3905/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3907(1) — "the court shall dismiss with prejudice a
  cause of action, or part of a cause of action, if... the responding
  party fails to establish a prima facie case as to each essential
  element of the cause of action; or... there is no genuine issue as to
  any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a
  matter of law..." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3907/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3908 — "The court shall rule on a motion pursuant to
  section 6-3903... no later than sixty (60) days after a hearing
  pursuant to section 6-3905." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3908/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3909 — "A moving party may appeal as a matter of
  right from an order denying, in whole or in part, a motion pursuant to
  section 6-3903... The appeal shall be filed within forty-two (42) days
  after entry of the order..." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3909/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3910 — "the court shall award court costs,
  reasonable attorney's fees, and reasonable litigation expenses related
  to the motion: (1) To the moving party if the moving party prevails on
  the motion; or (2) To the responding party if the responding party
  prevails on the motion and the court finds that the motion was
  frivolous or filed solely with intent to delay the proceeding." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3910/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• Idaho Code § 6-3911 — "This chapter shall be broadly construed and
  applied to protect the exercise of the right of freedom of speech and
  of the press, the right to assemble and petition, and the right of
  association..." Source:
  https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title6/T6CH39/SECT6-3911/
  (accessed 2026-07-05).