Michigan: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Michigan was one of the last large states without an anti-SLAPP law until it
adopted the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA), effective
March 24, 2026. The Act lets a defendant sued over a government-related
communication or the exercise of free speech, press, assembly, petition, or
association rights on a matter of public concern file a special motion for
expedited relief. Filing it stays the case, and if the plaintiff can't
clear a defined evidentiary bar, the claim is dismissed with prejudice and
the defendant recovers fees.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Michigan's anti-SLAPP law is the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act,
MCL §§ 691.1851-691.1863. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed it as House Bill
4045 (2025 PA 52) on December 23, 2025, after it passed the House 103-0 and
the Senate 36-0. It took effect March 24, 2026 -- 91 days after the 2025
legislative session's final adjournment -- and applies only to causes of
action asserted on or after that date. Before this, Michigan had no
anti-SLAPP statute at all.

What speech or conduct is protected

The Act defines an "eligible cause of action" as one based on a
communication in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or
other governmental proceeding; a communication on an issue under
consideration or review by such a body; or the exercise of free speech,
free press, assembly, petition, or association rights on a matter of public
concern. That's the standard, broad UPEPA formulation shared with several
other recently-enacting states.

The special motion

A defendant has 60 days after being served with the complaint (or a
cross-claim, counterclaim, or third-party claim asserting an eligible cause
of action) to file the special motion, though a court can extend that for
good cause. Filing it automatically stays every other proceeding between
the parties, including discovery. The court must hold a hearing within 60
days of filing (longer if it allows limited discovery first) and must rule
within 60 days after that hearing.

Burden of proof

Once the movant shows the claim is based on eligible conduct, the burden
shifts to the responding party to show either that an exemption applies or
that the claim survives: the responding party must establish a prima facie
case on every essential element, or else the movant must show the claim
fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted or that there's no
genuine issue of material fact. Unlike an ordinary motion to dismiss,
Michigan's Act lets the court look beyond the pleadings -- it "shall
consider the pleadings, the motion, any reply or response to the motion,
affidavits, depositions, admissions, or other documentary evidence."

Attorney's fees

A prevailing movant is entitled to mandatory court costs, attorney fees,
and litigation expenses. A prevailing responding party -- one who beats the
motion -- only gets fees if the court separately finds the motion was
frivolous or filed solely to delay the case.

Right to appeal

A denial of the special motion, in whole or in part, carries an automatic
right of appeal, with the notice of appeal due within 21 days. The Act
doesn't need a matching provision for a grant of the motion, since
dismissing the claim with prejudice is already a final, appealable
judgment.

Exemptions

Michigan's exemptions list is longer than most other UPEPA states'. Beyond
the standard commercial-speech exemption -- claims against someone primarily
in the business of selling or leasing goods or services, arising from a
sale- or lease-related communication -- Michigan separately exempts claims
brought under eleven specific civil-rights, disability, whistleblower,
workers'-compensation, and employment statutes: the Elliott-Larsen Civil
Rights Act, the Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, the
Whistleblowers' Protection Act, the Worker's Disability Compensation Act,
the Freedom of Information Act, and the federal Title VII, Title IX, ADEA,
ADA, FMLA, and FLSA.

What trips people up

Michigan's exemption list is unusually long, and it's there for a
reason. Because the Act's catch-all covers "association" and "petition"
activity broadly, without the employment-statute exemptions an employer
could try to use the special motion to short-circuit a discrimination,
retaliation, whistleblower, or wage claim just because the underlying facts
touch on speech. The eleven-statute list closes that door for the claims
the legislature considered most exposed.

The Act only applies to causes of action filed on or after March 24,
2026. A claim filed before that date -- even if the motion itself is filed
later -- isn't covered; there's no anti-SLAPP tool at all for those older
cases, since Michigan had no prior statute.

The evidentiary record is broader than a standard motion to dismiss.
Because the court can consider affidavits, depositions, admissions, and
other documentary evidence (not just the complaint), a plaintiff has to be
ready to substantiate their claim with real evidence very early in the
case, well before the normal discovery process would otherwise require it.

Common questions

Does filing the motion stop the whole case, or just discovery? The
whole case. Filing the special motion automatically stays "all other
proceedings between the moving party and the responding party, including
discovery and a pending hearing or motion."

Can my employer use this to get rid of my discrimination or retaliation
lawsuit if my complaints involved speaking up? No. Michigan's Act
specifically exempts claims under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, the
Whistleblowers' Protection Act, and several other named civil-rights and
employment statutes from the special motion process.

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. An ordinary loss on the merits doesn't by itself
create a fee obligation.

Statutes and sources

• MCL 691.1852 — "(1)(d) 'Eligible cause of action' means a cause of
  action asserted after the effective date of this act in a civil action
  against a person based on any of the following: (i) A communication by
  the person in a legislative, executive, judicial, administrative, or
  other governmental proceeding. (ii) A communication by the person on an
  issue under consideration or review in a legislative, executive,
  judicial, administrative, or other governmental proceeding. (iii) The
  person's exercise of the right of freedom of speech or of the press, the
  right to assemble or petition the government for a redress of
  grievances, or the right of association, guaranteed by the United States
  Constitution or the state constitution of 1963 on a matter of public
  concern. (2) An otherwise eligible cause of action is not an eligible
  cause of action if 1 or more of the following apply: (a) It is against a
  person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or
  services if the cause of action arises out of a communication related to
  the person's sale or lease of the goods or services. (b) It arises from a
  claim by an individual for the violation of any of the following: (i) The
  Elliott-Larsen civil rights act... (xi) The fair labor standards act of
  1938..." Source:
  https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/MCL-ACT-52-OF-2025.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• MCL 691.1853 — "Not later than 60 days after a party is served with a
  complaint, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or other
  pleading that asserts an eligible cause of action, or at a later time on
  a showing of good cause, the party may file a special motion for
  expedited relief to dismiss the action or part of the action." Source:
  https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/MCL-ACT-52-OF-2025.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• MCL 691.1854 — "(1) ... on the filing of a motion under section 3:
  (a) All other proceedings between the moving party and the responding
  party, including discovery and a pending hearing or motion, are stayed."
  Source: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Home/GetObject?ObjectName=mcl-691-1854
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• MCL 691.1856 — "In ruling on a motion under section 3, the court
  shall consider the pleadings, the motion, any reply or response to the
  motion, affidavits, depositions, admissions, or other documentary
  evidence." Source:
  https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Home/GetObject?ObjectName=mcl-691-1856
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• MCL 691.1857 — "(1) In ruling on a motion under section 3, the court
  shall dismiss with prejudice an action, or part of an action, if all of
  the following apply: (a) The moving party establishes the cause of action
  is an eligible cause of action. (b) The responding party fails to
  establish that the cause of action is not an eligible cause of action
  under section 2(2). (c) Either of the following applies: (i) The
  responding party fails to establish a prima facie case as to each
  essential element of the cause of action. (ii) The moving party
  establishes either of the following: (A) The responding party failed to
  state a cause of action on which relief can be granted. (B) There is no
  genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to
  judgment as a matter of law on the action or part of the action." Source:
  https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Home/GetObject?ObjectName=mcl-691-1857
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• MCL 691.1859 — "A moving party may appeal as a matter of right from
  an order denying, in whole or in part, a motion under section 3. The
  appeal must be filed not later than 21 days after entry of the order."
  Source: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Home/GetObject?ObjectName=mcl-691-1859
  (accessed 2026-07-05).
• MCL 691.1860 — "On a motion under section 3, the court shall award
  court costs, reasonable attorney fees, and reasonable litigation expenses
  related to the motion as follows: (a) To the moving party if the moving
  party prevails on the motion. (b) 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://www.legislature.mi.gov/Home/GetObject?ObjectName=mcl-691-1860
  (accessed 2026-07-05).