By Robert Sherwin and Laura Prather
The Texas Lawbook
Originally published Feb. 6, 2025
Below is an excerpt from the article. Read the full story here.
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The truth is that the TCPA allows Texans to speak freely on matters of public concern without having to fear reprisal from powerful interests. The TCPA allows for an expedited motion to dismiss baseless lawsuits in order to spare Texas citizens from intrusive and expensive legal proceedings. To ensure that protection, the TCPA includes an automatic stay of discovery and the right to pursue an interlocutory appeal of a trial court’s decision. The law has protected Texans of all political persuasions — from pro-life activists to left-leaning media outlets.
Critics of the TCPA are now working to scale back its protections — in SB 336 sponsored by Texas Sen. Bryan Hughes and its companion HB 2459 sponsored by State Rep. Jeff Leach — by eliminating the discovery stay and stay of trial court proceedings during an interlocutory appeal in cases where a trial court has determined that the motion to dismiss is untimely, frivolous or covered by an exception to the law. These “reforms” would remove critical checks and balances that prevent speakers from being punished while courts determine whether a case has merit. The law’s critics, without evidentiary support, suggest these changes would merely weed out lawsuits to which the TCPA clearly does not apply. But there are many cases in which trial courts have gotten their initial rulings wrong on timeliness, frivolousness and the exceptions — sometimes more than once — which would have subjected defendants to costly proceedings only to later be vindicated on appeal.