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SLAPP as in Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. To keep the dissenting voices quiet and to scare other groups from protesting. Modus operandi for

by shrubby 8mo ago

SLAPP as in Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. To keep the dissenting voices quiet and to scare other groups from protesting. Modus operandi for many industries.

shrubby 8mo ago
https://www.the-case.eu/latest/number-of-slapps-in-europe-continues-to-rise/ https://www.the-case.eu/latest/number-of-slapps-in-europe-co...
terminalshort 8mo ago
A SLAPP is a frivolous lawsuit that the plaintiff has no chance of winning. In this case they won a judgment, so it's the opposite of that.
- PaulDavisThe1st 8mo ago
  That's not technically what a SLAPP is. The reason it is called a strategic lawsuit is frequently that it will cost the defendant so much to defend themselves that they opt to settle rather than risk that cost. Even if the plaintiff is unlikely to win, it is rarely a "no chance" situation, and with judge/district shopping, it is quite possible for large corporations to move further from "no chance" than an individual or non-profit might.
some_random 8mo ago
That is objectively not what happened here though, the point of SLAPP is that it's a frivolous suit that's meant to just exhaust the resources of the "dissenting voices". They won this suit and honestly it's not hard to believe that Greenpeace is guilty to some degree even if proving it is.
- southerntofu 8mo ago
  Well it is very hard to believe they're guilty, at least to me. Too bad the news report does not provide any actual information about the case and the evidence (actual journalism beyond clickbaity headlines). In environmental circles, Greenpeace is very well-known to be traitors working with big corporations to launder their image. They're opposed to sabotage and revolutionary tactics. Their activities are mostly fundraising and legal proceedings, and on the rare instance they perform so-called civil disobedience (such as deploying banners on nuclear plants), it is in very orderly fashion that doesn't provide much economic harm. As a left-wing environmentalist, i wish such a strong voice as Greenpeace was capable to incite people to rise against the greedy corporations destroying our planet. I just don't see that happening, neither here in France nor in the USA.
  - terminalshort 8mo ago
    [flagged]
    - PaulDavisThe1st 8mo ago
      Not this tired nonsense again. Contrasting specific technological and social artifacts with a form of economic organization and legal structures without noting how different they are is a cheap and weak form of argument. If you want to insist that only greedy corporations could have made portable hand-held network connected computing devices possible, then make that point. If you want to insist that there could be no automobile or refueling system without a system in which corporate profits primarily are directed towards capital rather than labor, then make that point. If you find it impossible that powered flight would exist at a price where most people could afford it without specific laws controlling corporate liability and legal fiduciary responsibility, than make that point. But "ah, so you use human-created technology while criticizing the organizations that make it" isn't really the winning argument that you appear to think it is.
      - terminalshort 8mo ago
        What does any of that have to do with anything? > If you want to insist that only greedy corporations could have made portable hand-held network connected computing devices possible, then make that point. It burns oil and emits CO2. Doesn't matter who makes it or if they are "greedy." Physics doesn't care about human emotions. > If you want to insist that there could be no automobile or refueling system without a system in which corporate profits primarily are directed towards capital rather than labor, then make that point. It burns oil and emits CO2. Physics doesn't care about accounting. > If you find it impossible that powered flight would exist at a price where most people could afford it without specific laws controlling corporate liability and legal fiduciary responsibility, than make that point. It burns oil and emits CO2. It doesn't matter what the price to the end user is or who liability. Physics does not care about lawyers. > But "ah, so you use human-created technology while criticizing the organizations that make it" isn't really the winning argument that you appear to think it is. If your criticism is about global warming, then yes it is a wining argument because the organizations are irrelevant. It burns oil and emits CO2. Physics doesn't care about human organizations.
- mullingitover 8mo ago
  > the point of SLAPP is that it's a frivolous suit The point is to shut people up. Lawyers don't like filing literally frivolous suits, that type of activity gets you disbarred.
  - laughing_man 8mo ago
    In theory, yes. But does that actually happen IRL? I've never heard of a lawyer getting disbarred for the quality of suits he or she is filing. Many years ago in Northern CA we had a lawyer that was basically going around filing suits against everyone she came in contact with as a way to pay the bills. She was eventually declared a "vexatious litigant" and had to get a judge's permission before she could sue anyone in the future, but they didn't disbar her.
    - sidewndr46 8mo ago
      how is that any different than a lawsuit. You can file whatever you want, it doesn't mean the judge is going to hear the case
      - laughing_man 8mo ago
        It's different because there's no lawsuit if the judge doesn't allow it to go forward, so the defendant never gets served, they don't have to hire a lawyer, and don't have to deal with the stress. She might lose a lawsuit in summary dismissal, but the defendant is going to be out thousands of dollars by the time that happens. Anyway, the goal was never to go to court in any of her filings. What she wanted was to bully people into paying a settlement, since that meant she didn't have to pay any court fees.
magicalist 8mo ago
> SLAPP as in Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. Unfortunately North Dakota is one of the minority of states without anti-SLAPP laws.

by shrubby 8mo ago

SLAPP as in Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. To keep the dissenting voices quiet and to scare other groups from protesting. Modus operandi for many industries.

shrubby 8mo ago

https://www.the-case.eu/latest/number-of-slapps-in-europe-continues-to-rise/ https://www.the-case.eu/latest/number-of-slapps-in-europe-co...

terminalshort 8mo ago

A SLAPP is a frivolous lawsuit that the plaintiff has no chance of winning. In this case they won a judgment, so it's the opposite of that.

PaulDavisThe1st 8mo ago
That's not technically what a SLAPP is. The reason it is called a strategic lawsuit is frequently that it will cost the defendant so much to defend themselves that they opt to settle rather than risk that cost. Even if the plaintiff is unlikely to win, it is rarely a "no chance" situation, and with judge/district shopping, it is quite possible for large corporations to move further from "no chance" than an individual or non-profit might.

some_random 8mo ago

That is objectively not what happened here though, the point of SLAPP is that it's a frivolous suit that's meant to just exhaust the resources of the "dissenting voices". They won this suit and honestly it's not hard to believe that Greenpeace is guilty to some degree even if proving it is.

southerntofu 8mo ago
Well it is very hard to believe they're guilty, at least to me. Too bad the news report does not provide any actual information about the case and the evidence (actual journalism beyond clickbaity headlines). In environmental circles, Greenpeace is very well-known to be traitors working with big corporations to launder their image. They're opposed to sabotage and revolutionary tactics. Their activities are mostly fundraising and legal proceedings, and on the rare instance they perform so-called civil disobedience (such as deploying banners on nuclear plants), it is in very orderly fashion that doesn't provide much economic harm. As a left-wing environmentalist, i wish such a strong voice as Greenpeace was capable to incite people to rise against the greedy corporations destroying our planet. I just don't see that happening, neither here in France nor in the USA.
- terminalshort 8mo ago
  [flagged]
  - PaulDavisThe1st 8mo ago
    Not this tired nonsense again. Contrasting specific technological and social artifacts with a form of economic organization and legal structures without noting how different they are is a cheap and weak form of argument. If you want to insist that only greedy corporations could have made portable hand-held network connected computing devices possible, then make that point. If you want to insist that there could be no automobile or refueling system without a system in which corporate profits primarily are directed towards capital rather than labor, then make that point. If you find it impossible that powered flight would exist at a price where most people could afford it without specific laws controlling corporate liability and legal fiduciary responsibility, than make that point. But "ah, so you use human-created technology while criticizing the organizations that make it" isn't really the winning argument that you appear to think it is.
    - terminalshort 8mo ago
      What does any of that have to do with anything? > If you want to insist that only greedy corporations could have made portable hand-held network connected computing devices possible, then make that point. It burns oil and emits CO2. Doesn't matter who makes it or if they are "greedy." Physics doesn't care about human emotions. > If you want to insist that there could be no automobile or refueling system without a system in which corporate profits primarily are directed towards capital rather than labor, then make that point. It burns oil and emits CO2. Physics doesn't care about accounting. > If you find it impossible that powered flight would exist at a price where most people could afford it without specific laws controlling corporate liability and legal fiduciary responsibility, than make that point. It burns oil and emits CO2. It doesn't matter what the price to the end user is or who liability. Physics does not care about lawyers. > But "ah, so you use human-created technology while criticizing the organizations that make it" isn't really the winning argument that you appear to think it is. If your criticism is about global warming, then yes it is a wining argument because the organizations are irrelevant. It burns oil and emits CO2. Physics doesn't care about human organizations.
mullingitover 8mo ago
> the point of SLAPP is that it's a frivolous suit The point is to shut people up. Lawyers don't like filing literally frivolous suits, that type of activity gets you disbarred.
- laughing_man 8mo ago
  In theory, yes. But does that actually happen IRL? I've never heard of a lawyer getting disbarred for the quality of suits he or she is filing. Many years ago in Northern CA we had a lawyer that was basically going around filing suits against everyone she came in contact with as a way to pay the bills. She was eventually declared a "vexatious litigant" and had to get a judge's permission before she could sue anyone in the future, but they didn't disbar her.
  - sidewndr46 8mo ago
    how is that any different than a lawsuit. You can file whatever you want, it doesn't mean the judge is going to hear the case
    - laughing_man 8mo ago
      It's different because there's no lawsuit if the judge doesn't allow it to go forward, so the defendant never gets served, they don't have to hire a lawyer, and don't have to deal with the stress. She might lose a lawsuit in summary dismissal, but the defendant is going to be out thousands of dollars by the time that happens. Anyway, the goal was never to go to court in any of her filings. What she wanted was to bully people into paying a settlement, since that meant she didn't have to pay any court fees.

magicalist 8mo ago

> SLAPP as in Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. Unfortunately North Dakota is one of the minority of states without anti-SLAPP laws.