This statute (HB 135) is a weak version of an anti-SLAPP law.
In 1999 an anti-SLAPP bill, HB 135, was introduced in the House (see House Committee on Judiciary Analysis of HB 135). A companion bill was introduced in the Senate (S. 306). These bills were virtually identical to bills introduced in 1998 (Senate Bill 272 and House Bill 3549). HB 135 was completely rewritten in the House; all the procedural safeguards thought necessary for an effective anti-SLAPP statute were eliminated, and protection was limited to defendants sued by a government agency. The amended HB 135 was substituted for S. 306 in the Senate, where it passed unanimously on April 19, 2000. The amended HB 135 also passed unanimously in the House on April 28 and was signed into law by the governor on June 2, 2000.
Florida Statutes Sec. 720.304(4)
The statute (SB 1184) provides penalties for SLAPPs against parcel owners in a homes association. It is effective Oct. 1, 2004.
This provision was recommended by the Homeowners Association Task Force, established by the governor in 2003. It was added as Sec. 19 to SB 1184, introduced Dec. 11, 2003, by Sen. Walter Campbell (Dem.-Broward Co.), passed the Senate and House on April 30, 2004, and signed by the governor June 23.
Plaintiffs sued a citizens organization, alleging that citizens intentionally and maliciously interefered with the association's advantageous business relations when they filed petitions with the local water management district challenging water permits for association members. The court reviewed the Noerr-Pennington doctrine then rejected the doctrine as precedent. Instead, the court relied on the the Florida Supreme Court's 1992 decision in Londono v. Turkey Creek, Inc. (see below).
Londono v. Turkey Creek, Inc.
(1992) Florida Supreme Court
The court declined to adopt the "sham" test set out in Sierra Club v. Butz 349 F.Supp. 934 (N.D.Cal. 1972) for imposing liability for defamation in the exercise of the right of petition. The court concludes that "the current law in Florida already provides protection for the First Amendment right to petition the government." The court reiterated the rule established in Nodar v. Galbreath, 462 So.2d 803 (Fla. 1984): "One who publishes defamatory matter concerning another is not liable for the publication if (a) the matter is published upon an occasion that makes it conditionally privileged and (b) the privilege is not abused."