New York: Anti-SLAPP Laws

Requirements one by one

Governing law

The 1992 original was narrow: it only protected people sued over their
efforts to obtain a permit, zoning change, or other government approval
from a private developer retaliating against opposition. A 2020 amendment
(Chapter 250 of the Laws of 2020) rewrote the definition of "action
involving public petition and participation" to cover any communication in
a public forum on an issue of public interest, bringing New York's law much
closer in scope to California's or Texas's.

What speech or conduct is protected

An "action involving public petition and participation" is a claim based on
either a communication in a place open to the public or a public forum in
connection with an issue of public interest, or other lawful conduct
furthering the constitutional right of free speech (on such an issue) or
the constitutional right of petition. The statute defines "public interest"
expansively: "any subject other than a purely private matter."

The motion and its procedure

New York doesn't create a freestanding "special motion" the way California
or Texas does. Instead, once a defendant shows the suit qualifies as an
action involving public petition and participation, an ordinary CPLR
3211(a)(7) motion to dismiss (for failure to state a cause of action) or a
CPLR 3212 summary judgment motion gets a heightened standard and a
scheduling preference. Filing either motion automatically stays all
discovery, pending hearings, and motions in the case until the court rules,
though a court can allow limited, issue-specific discovery on a showing
that the opposing party genuinely cannot present facts to oppose the motion
without it.

Burden of proof

The two motions use different statutory formulations. Under CPLR 3211(g),
the motion to dismiss must be granted unless the plaintiff demonstrates a
"substantial basis in law" or a substantial argument for changing existing
law. Under CPLR 3212(h), summary judgment must be granted unless the
plaintiff demonstrates a "substantial basis in fact and law" or the same
kind of substantial argument for changing existing law.

Attorney's fees

Civil Rights Law § 70-a says costs and attorney's fees "shall be recovered"
upon a demonstration, including an adjudication under CPLR 3211(g) or
3212(h), that the action was commenced or continued without a substantial
basis in fact and law and lacked a substantial argument for changing
existing law. Other compensatory damages require an additional showing of
a harassing, intimidating, punishing, or maliciously inhibiting purpose;
punitive damages require that to have been the suit's sole purpose.

Right to appeal

Neither §§ 70-a/76-a nor CPLR 3211(g)/3212(h) creates a SLAPP-specific
interlocutory appeal right. Ordinary CPLR 5701(a)(2) permits an appeal as of
right from a noticed-motion order not excluded by subdivision (b) when it
"involves some part of the merits" or "affects a substantial right." The
anti-SLAPP provisions themselves add no appellate stay or accelerated
calendar.

Exemptions

Neither the Civil Rights Law sections nor the CPLR provisions list any
named categories of exempted claims. The only limiting principle is the
"action involving public petition and participation" definition itself: a
claim that doesn't fit that definition simply isn't covered, rather than
being carved out by a separate exemptions section.

What trips people up

There's no single motion to point to — it's an enhancement to existing
motions. Someone looking for a distinct "anti-SLAPP motion" form the way
California or Texas has one won't find it in New York; the protection is
layered onto an ordinary CPLR 3211 or 3212 motion.

The two New York motions do not use identical words. CPLR 3211(g) asks
for a substantial basis in law; CPLR 3212(h) asks for a substantial basis
in fact and law. Do not collapse those into one formula.

The 2020 broadening is easy to miss in older material. Anything
describing New York's anti-SLAPP law as limited to disputes over government
permits and approvals is describing the pre-2020 law, which the 2020
amendment substantially superseded.

Common questions

Does filing the motion stop the case from moving forward? Discovery,
pending hearings, and other motions are automatically stayed once the
motion is filed, and the stay lasts until the court rules.

Can I get money damages, not just dismissal and fees? Only with clear
and convincing evidence that the suit was brought to harass, intimidate,
punish, or maliciously inhibit your exercise of protected rights — a higher
bar than what's needed to win the dismissal motion and recover fees in the
first place.

If I lose the motion, can I appeal right away? There is no special
fast-track appeal built into the anti-SLAPP provisions. Ordinary CPLR
5701(a)(2) may supply an appeal as of right when its conditions are met.

Statutes and sources

• N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 76-a — "\"Public interest\" shall be construed
  broadly, and shall mean any subject other than a purely private matter."
  The full current definitions of claim and communication are preserved in
  the statute record above. Source:
  https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVR/76-A (accessed 2026-08-22).
• N.Y. Civil Rights Law § 70-a — "costs and attorney's fees shall be
  recovered upon a demonstration, including an adjudication pursuant to
  subdivision (g) of rule thirty-two hundred eleven or subdivision (h) of
  rule thirty-two hundred twelve of the civil practice law and rules, that
  the action involving public petition and participation was commenced or
  continued without a substantial basis in fact and law and could not be
  supported by a substantial argument for the extension, modification or
  reversal of existing law." Source:
  https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVR/70-A
  (accessed 2026-08-22).
• N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3211(g) — "1. A motion to dismiss based on paragraph
  seven of subdivision (a) of this section, in which the moving party has
  demonstrated that the action, claim, cross claim or counterclaim subject
  to the motion is an action involving public petition and participation
  as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section seventy-six-a
  of the civil rights law, shall be granted unless the party responding to
  the motion demonstrates that the cause of action has a substantial basis
  in law or is supported by a substantial argument for an extension,
  modification or reversal of existing law. The court shall grant
  preference in the hearing of such motion." Source:
  https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/3211 (accessed 2026-08-22).
• N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3211(g)(3) — "All discovery, pending hearings, and
  motions in the action shall be stayed upon the filing of a motion made
  pursuant to this section. The stay shall remain in effect until notice of
  entry of the order ruling on the motion." Source:
  https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/3211 (accessed 2026-08-22).
• N.Y. C.P.L.R. 3212(h) — "A motion for summary judgment, in which the
  moving party has demonstrated that the action, claim, cross claim or
  counterclaim subject to the motion is an action involving public petition
  and participation, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of
  section seventy-six-a of the civil rights law, shall be granted unless
  the party responding to the motion demonstrates that the action, claim,
  cross claim or counterclaim has a substantial basis in fact and law or is
  supported by a substantial argument for an extension, modification or
  reversal of existing law. The court shall grant preference in the hearing
  of such motion." Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/3212
  (accessed 2026-08-22).
• N.Y. C.P.L.R. 5701(a)(2) — ordinary appeal as of right includes an
  order from a noticed motion, when the other statutory conditions are met,
  that "involves some part of the merits" or "affects a substantial right."
  Source: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CVP/5701
  (accessed 2026-08-22).