From Envirowiki

Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP) is when a company or government undertakes a civil lawsuit against a person or organisation for opposing them. SLAPP suits often take the form of a corporation suing an activist for supposed economic damage, libel, or defamation, however, the aim is usually to simply tie up the activist in legal proceedings, and stop them participating democratically in the issue, or to destroy their morale, and have them drop out of public activism. The cases brought by Gunns Limited against a number of forest activists and environment groups are prime examples of this.

[edit] 1 Against SLAPPs

In dealing with the Gunns 20 cases, Senior Council Brian Walters said:

"The courts should be given a mechanism to determine whether a lawsuit is intended to block public participation. If it has been, there should be power in the courts to deal with the case in a way that discourages such abuse."^[1]

and:

"Where a developer sues a local environment group for defamation (a frequent event) the cost can be claimed as a tax-deductible business expense. This is not the case for environment groups or their members. Their involvement in public life is not for the purpose of generating income, and the expense is not tax deductible. The Corporation will receive a significant tax reduction for each dollar it spends on legal action; the community group will have to pay its own way."^[1]

[edit] 2 References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Brian Walters, S.C., Quoted in Newton and Hay, "The Forests"