Anti-SLAPP Law Applied To Dismiss Claims In Suit Growing Out of Condo Mezuzah Dispute

In Shoreline Towers Condominium Association v. Gassman, (IL App., Sept. 30, 2010), an Illinois appellate court agreed with the trial court that portions of a lawsuit by a condominium association against a former resident should be dismissed under Illinois' anti-SLAPP law. What began as a dispute between former resident Debra Gassman over condo rules that prevented her from placing a mezuzah on her door escalated into several confrontations between Glassman on the one hand and the Association and its president on the other.  This suit by the Association and its president seeking an injunction and alleging defamation and malicious prosecution, among other charges, followed. In upholding dismissal of claims brought by the Association (while allowing claims by its president to proceed), the court said that the anti-SLAPP law: "does not protect only public outcry regarding matters of significant public concern, nor does it require the use of a public forum in order for a citizen to be protected. Rather, it protects from liability all constitutional forms of expression and participation in pursuit of favorable government action." The court also upheld retroactive application of the anti-SLAPP law and the award of attorneys' fees.