Oregon: Anti-SLAPP Laws

The short answer

Oregon has had its own anti-SLAPP statute since 2001, now codified at ORS
31.150 to 31.155. Some secondary sources describe recent amendments as
bringing Oregon in line with the newer Uniform Public Expression Protection
Act (UPEPA), but that's an overstatement — Oregon never adopted UPEPA; it
amended its original home-grown design. If you're sued over a statement in
a government proceeding, a public-forum statement on an issue of public
interest, or other protected speech, petition, assembly, or association
activity, you can file a special motion to strike within 60 days of service.
Filing it automatically stays all discovery until judgment. The plaintiff
then has to show a "probability of prevailing" with substantial evidence — a
real but lighter screen than a full trial. A prevailing defendant recovers
fees as a matter of course, and a denial is immediately appealable.

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Oregon's anti-SLAPP statute is ORS 31.150 to 31.155, enacted in 2001
(originally numbered ORS 30.142, 30.144, and 30.146, later renumbered into
chapter 31). It was substantively amended twice recently: 2023's SB 305
(2023 c.71, effective January 1, 2024) codified an explicit right to appeal
a denial and added voluntary-dismissal fee protections, and 2025's SB 180
(2025 c.275, effective January 1, 2026 — already in force) added a narrower
protected-activity category for good-faith statements about an incident of
sexual assault, paired with a heightened malice requirement for any
defamation claim based on that category. Oregon has not enacted UPEPA; it
remains a home-grown statute with its own section numbers and its own
"probability of prevailing" burden-shifting design.

What speech or conduct is protected

The core category covers a statement or document submitted in a government
proceeding, a statement on an issue under consideration or review by such a
body, a statement in a place open to the public or a public forum on an
issue of public interest, or other conduct furthering the constitutional
rights of speech, press, assembly, petition, or association connected to a
public issue. The 2025 amendment added a second, narrower category: a
statement about an incident of sexual assault, made in good faith with an
objectively reasonable belief it occurred.

The special motion to strike

File within 60 days of being served with the complaint, or later if the
court allows it. The court must hold a hearing within 30 days of the motion
being filed, unless the court's docket requires a later date. The motion is
treated procedurally like an ordinary ORCP 21 A motion to dismiss, except
Oregon's rule against filing more than one such motion (ORCP 21 F) doesn't
apply here. Filing the motion automatically stays all discovery in the case
until the judgment is entered; a party can still get specific discovery
allowed by the court on a showing of good cause.

Burden of proof

The defendant first has to make a prima facie showing that the claim arises
out of protected conduct. If that's done, the burden shifts to the
plaintiff to show a "probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the
claim" by presenting "substantial evidence" supporting a prima facie case.
This isn't a full merits trial and the court doesn't weigh competing
evidence or judge credibility at this stage — it asks whether the
plaintiff's evidence, if believed, could let a reasonable factfinder rule
in the plaintiff's favor. For a defamation claim based specifically on the
2025 sexual-assault-disclosure category, the plaintiff has an extra burden:
showing a probability that the defendant acted with malice.

Attorney's fees

A prevailing defendant is awarded reasonable attorney fees and costs as a
matter of course. The same mandatory award goes the other way — to a
prevailing plaintiff — only if the court finds the motion was frivolous or
filed solely to cause unnecessary delay.

Right to appeal

Only the moving party (the defendant) has a statutory right to an immediate
appeal, and only from an order denying the motion in whole or in part. A
grant results in a judgment of dismissal without prejudice — that's a final
judgment, appealable in the ordinary way rather than through a special
interlocutory route, because it ends the claim rather than leaving the case
pending.

Exemptions

The statute doesn't reach a claim against a person primarily in the
business of selling or leasing goods or services, where the claim arises
from a communication related to that sale or lease. It also doesn't apply
at all to an action brought by the Attorney General, a district attorney,
county counsel, or a city attorney acting in an official capacity. And the
statute is expressly procedural only — it creates a dismissal mechanism but
doesn't change the substantive law governing the underlying claim.

What trips people up

Don't assume Oregon adopted UPEPA. Some secondary sources describe
Oregon's 2023 amendments as aligning the state with the newer Uniform
Public Expression Protection Act. That's not accurate — Oregon kept its
original 2001 statute, section numbers, and "probability of prevailing"
standard; it only added features (an explicit appeal right, voluntary-
dismissal fee protection) that happen to resemble UPEPA concepts.

"Substantial evidence" is not the same as "clear and convincing
evidence." Oregon courts have held the plaintiff's burden at this stage
doesn't require the judge to weigh competing evidence or resolve
credibility disputes — only to ask whether a reasonable factfinder could
rule for the plaintiff if the plaintiff's evidence is believed. Don't
overstate how hard this screen is to pass.

The appeal right runs only one way, and only from a denial. Unlike
some other states, a plaintiff whose claim survives a special motion to
strike has no separate immediate-appeal right under this statute — only a
losing defendant does, and only from the denial itself.

Common questions

Does this cover a lawsuit over my public comments at a city council
meeting? Likely yes — statements made in, or on an issue under review by,
a legislative or executive body are squarely within the first protected-
activity category.

If I lose my special motion, can I appeal right away? Yes. ORS
31.152(5) gives the moving party (the defendant) an immediate right to
appeal a denial, filed under ORS 19.205.

Can I use this motion if I'm being sued for talking about a sexual
assault I believe happened? Only for a defamation claim, and only if you
made the statement in good faith with an objectively reasonable belief the
assault occurred — and even then, the plaintiff can still defeat the
motion by showing a probability that you acted with malice.

Statutes and sources

• ORS 31.150(1)-(2) — "(1) A defendant may make a special motion to
  strike against a claim in a civil action described in subsection (2) of
  this section. The court shall grant the motion unless the plaintiff
  establishes... that there is a probability that the plaintiff will
  prevail on the claim... (2) A special motion to strike may be made under
  this section against any claim... that arises out of: (a)... Any oral
  statement made, or written statement or other document submitted, in a
  legislative, executive or judicial proceeding... or (b) Any oral
  statement made... regarding an incident of sexual assault..., if the
  statement... is made... in good faith and with an objectively reasonable
  belief that the incident of sexual assault occurred." Source:
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors031.html (accessed
  2026-07-05).
• ORS 31.150(3)-(6) — "(3) A special motion to strike may not be made
  against a claim... against a person primarily engaged in the business of
  selling or leasing goods or services if the claim arises out of a
  communication related to the person's sale or lease... (4) A defendant...
  has the initial burden of making a prima facie showing that the claim...
  arises out of a statement, document or conduct described in subsection
  (2)... the burden shifts to the plaintiff... to establish that there is a
  probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim by presenting
  substantial evidence to support a prima facie case. (5)... if the special
  motion to strike is against a claim of defamation and the defendant meets
  the initial burden... the burden shifts to the plaintiff... and that
  there is a probability that the defendant acted with malice..." Source:
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors031.html (accessed
  2026-07-05).
• ORS 31.152(1)-(2) — "(1) A special motion to strike under ORS 31.150
  must be filed within 60 days after the service of the complaint or, in
  the court's discretion, at any later time. A hearing shall be held on the
  motion not more than 30 days after the filing of the motion unless the
  docket conditions of the court require a later hearing. (2)(a) All
  discovery in the proceeding shall be stayed upon the filing of a special
  motion to strike... The stay of discovery shall remain in effect until
  entry of the judgment." Source:
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors031.html (accessed
  2026-07-05).
• ORS 31.152(3) — "A defendant who prevails on a special motion to
  strike made under ORS 31.150 shall be awarded reasonable attorney fees
  and costs. If the court finds that a special motion to strike is
  frivolous or is solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, the court
  shall award costs and reasonable attorney fees to a plaintiff who
  prevails on a special motion to strike." Source:
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors031.html (accessed
  2026-07-05).
• ORS 31.152(5)-(6) — "(5) A moving party may appeal as a matter of
  right from an order denying, in whole or in part, a special motion to
  strike under ORS 31.150. The appeal must be filed in accordance with ORS
  19.205. (6) The purpose of the procedure established by this section and
  ORS 31.150 and 31.155 is to provide a defendant with the right to not
  proceed to trial in cases in which the plaintiff does not meet the burden
  specified in ORS 31.150 (4). This section and ORS 31.150 and 31.155 are
  to be liberally construed in favor of the exercise of the rights
  described in ORS 31.150 (2)." Source:
  https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors031.html (accessed
  2026-07-05).
• ORS 31.155 — "(1) ORS 31.150 and 31.152 do not apply to an action
  brought by the Attorney General, a district attorney, a county counsel or
  a city attorney acting in an official capacity. (2) ORS 31.150 and 31.152
  create a procedure for seeking dismissal of claims described in ORS
  31.150 (2) and do not affect the substantive law governing those claims."
  Source: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors031.html
  (accessed 2026-07-05).