In a recent opinion, the Colorado Court of Appeals established a high standard of proof for a plaintiff to withstand a special motion to dismiss a defamation claim involving a matter of public concern.

The published ruling clarifies Colorado’s 2019 anti-SLAPP law, which protects news organizations and Coloradans in general from meritless lawsuits that target free expression. The law provides a process for the expedited dismissal of often-costly strategic lawsuits against public participation, known as SLAPP suits, which have been used to harass people for exercising their First Amendment rights.

The case considered by a three-judge Court of Appeals panel involves an Aspen man whose ex-girlfriend alleged that he might have sexually abused their daughter. The Court concluded that a Pitkin County District Court judge properly denied the mother’s special motion to dismiss the father’s defamation claim under the anti-SLAPP statute. But the trial court judge “applied the wrong standard” on the issue of whether there was evidence of “actual malice,” the appellate judges determined.