Newsworthy

Jackson Walker attorneys Chip Babcock, John Edwards, and Chevazz Brown successfully defended the Houston Community College System, one of the largest public colleges in the nation, against defamation and other speech-related claims brought by a current member of the board of trustees. The plaintiff alleged that the college defamed her in connection with various investigations conducted by the college concerning alleged wrongdoing by the plaintiff during her tenure as trustee.

Recognizing that the plaintiff's claims were based on, related to, or were in response to the college's exercise of its right of free speech, right to petition, and/or right of association, Jackson Walker, on behalf of the college, filed a motion to dismiss under Chapter 27 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code, an anti-SLAPP statute commonly known as the Texas Citizen Participation Act. The JW team successfully secured an order dismissing the plaintiff's lawsuit in its entirety. Significantly, the trial court, pursuant to the mandatory provisions of the statute, awarded the college its reasonable and necessary attorney's fees incurred in connection with the defense of the plaintiff's suit. The dismissal with award of attorneys' fees is one of the first under the new statute.