Second Circuit Holds California’s anti-SLAPP Statute Inapplicable in Federal Court, Reviving Defamation Case Against MSNBC Host Joy Reid

The Second Circuit has vacated the dismissal of a defamation case against MSNBC host Joy Reid, holding that California’s anti-SLAPP statute conflicts with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12 and 56 and is thus inapplicable in federal court. See La Liberte v. Reid, -- F.3d --, 2020 WL 3980223 (2d Cir. July 15, 2020). The ruling deepens a circuit split – pitting the First and Ninth Circuits on one end against the Fifth, Eleventh, D.C., and now Second Circuits on the other – on the issue of whether federal courts may entertain the various state iterations of the anti-SLAPP statute that allows for a special procedure to strike defamation complaints at the outset.

Under California’s anti-SLAPP provision, a defendant is afforded 60 days from the service of a complaint to file a motion to strike, which must be granted “unless the court determines that the plaintiff has established that there is a probability that the plaintiff will prevail on the claim.” Cal. Civ. Proc. Code. § 425.16(b). According to the Second Circuit, this procedural mechanism impermissibly shifts the burden on a plaintiff to establish a probability of success without benefit of discovery, thereby clashing with federal pleading standards that require that a plaintiff merely plead enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face, as well as with Rule 56 standards that a plaintiff need only show that it is possible, not likely, for a reasonable jury to find in his favor to avoid summary judgment.

Initially filed in the Eastern District of New York, the underlying suit accuses Reid of using her “substantial media presence, fame, and reputation as a hard-hitting journalist” to spread a false claim that a California woman named Roslyn La Liberte hurled racial slurs at a 14-year-old while attending a Simi Valley, California, city council meeting in June. The suit states that the MSNBC star targeted La Liberte because she was a Trump supporter who, in a photo gone viral, appeared to be in a heated conversation with the young man while wearing a MAGA hat. The Second Circuit’s ruling comes just five days before the MSNBC host’s new show, “The ReidOut,” debuts in the 7 p.m. weeknight time slot left vacant by Chris Matthews’ recent retirement.