News Brief
Holland and Lauricella Argue NY’s New Anti-SLAPP Law for Attorney’s Fees
Andrew S. Holland (Of Counsel-Albany, NY) and Peter A. Lauricella (Partner-Albany, NY) obtained a pre-answer dismissal in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in an unfair competition suit, and were awarded attorneys’ fees for the client under New York’s newly enacted anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) law. The plaintiff and two of the three co-defendant authors previously collaborated on a research paper. Years later, the three co-defendants published material on similar subject matter with the firm’s client, an academic research organization. The plaintiff was granted citation in the publication, but sued alleging cause of action for unfair competition and plagiary. The court granted Peter and Andrew’s Motion to Dismiss the complaint and granted the application for attorney’s fees, finding that the plaintiff “commenced this unfair competition action without a substantial basis in fact and law and for the purpose of burdening the defendants with legal defense costs.” We have requested an award of attorney’s fees in the amount of $48,000.