June 20, 2017      5:58 PM
Calling his arguments frivolous, Travis County judge rejects MQ Sullivan request to dismiss lobby case
Sullivan plans to appeal to the Third Court of Appeals in Austin using an argument media organizations have called “gaming the system”
Calling
the arguments from his attorneys “frivolous” and “solely intended to delay” the
pursuit of justice, a Travis County judge has rejected Michael Quinn Sullivan’s request that the case of his alleged
illegal lobbying be dismissed.
After
the judge rejected his request, Sullivan’s attorneys notified the court that they
plan to ask the Third Court of Appeals in Austin to hear their motion to
dismiss the case based on the state’s anti-SLAPP law, which provides for
expedited review of many legal issues based on the right of free speech.
For
those who are unfamiliar, a "strategic lawsuit against public
participation," or SLAPP, is a lawsuit intended to intimidate and silence
critics by burying them under the cost of a legal defense until they abandon
their criticism or opposition.
It’s
a perhaps funny thing for Sullivan to claim is happening to him, given that he
and his backers were able to pay out $700,000 in
attorneys’ fees in a single year.
By Scott Braddock
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