A “Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation” (a SLAPP-suit) filed by Jonathan Gilbert—a Smyrna auto mechanic—against Horwitz Law, PLLC client Daylan Langford is now dismissed with prejudice under the Tennessee Public Participation Act, the Circuit Court for Rutherford County, Tennessee has ruled.  The court also awarded Mr. Langford “the mandatory court costs, reasonable attorney’s fees, discretionary costs, and other expenses incurred in filing and prevailing upon the petition” and directed the parties to file supplemental briefing concerning whether Gilbert and his counsel should be sanctioned.

Gilbert’s lawsuit arose from poor service that resulted in Langford undertaking a days-long protest.  As detailed in Mr. Langford’s Tennessee Public Participation Act Petition: “This is a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation . . . [that] has been filed by Plaintiff Jonathan Gilbert—a no-good, very-bad auto mechanic who has a lengthy criminal record that includes crimes of dishonesty—against Daylan Langford, an unhappy customer who, like many before him, received poor and abusive service when he went to ‘Jon’s Auto Service’ to get his truck repaired.  After Mr. Langford’s bad experience with [Gilbert], Mr. Langford exercised his First Amendment right to peacefully protest his mistreatment in a public forum. In particular, Mr. Langford put on a chicken-head mask and—over the course of several days—displayed signs reading ‘Jon The Con’ and ‘Worst Auto Shop in Town? SOS!!’ while peacefully protesting on a public sidewalk[.]”

In response to Mr. Langford’s protest, Gilbert sued Mr. Langford for “an amount in excess of” $500,000.00, including punitive and treble damages.  Mr. Langford then retained Horwitz Law, PLLC’s anti-SLAPP attorneys and petitioned to dismiss Gilbert’s lawsuit with prejudice under the Tennessee Public Participation Act.  The night before hearing, though, Gilbert attempted to withdraw his lawsuit and prevent Mr. Langford’s TPPA Petition from being adjudicated.  Because Mr. Langford also filed a motion for summary judgment, however, the court ruled that Gilbert lacked authority to prevent the court from ruling.

Upon review, the court ruled that Gilbert’s lawsuit was filed in response to Langford’s exercise of his right to free speech.  Thus, the evidentiary burden shifted to Gilbert, and the court determined that Gilbert’s failure to support his claims with any evidence was fatal to his lawsuit.  “Therefore, the Court is mandated to dismiss the Plaintiff’s legal action with prejudice[,]” the court ruled.

“Peaceful protests are a quintessential American right and enjoy the First Amendment’s full protection,” said Horwitz Law, PLLC principal Daniel A. Horwitz, Mr. Langford’s lead counsel, who represented Mr. Langford with Horwitz Law, PLLC attorneys Lindsay Smith and Melissa Dix.  “Mr. Langford should be commended for protecting that sacred right on behalf of all Tennesseans, and business owners who are so thin-skinned that they cannot handle valid customer criticism should find another line of work.”

Mr. Langford’s win follows a string of earlier TPPA victories against defamation and other speech-based tort claims.  In January, for instance, two citizens prevailed in a SLAPP-suit filed against them by three Fayetteville Aldermen.  Before that, in July 2023, failed Tennessee House Candidate Michelle Foreman saw her SLAPP-suit against Horwitz Law, PLLC client Dave Rosenberg dismissed.  Ms. Foreman was ultimately sanctioned $100,000.00.  Before that, in December 2022, conservative commentator and Horwitz Law, PLLC client Candace Owens prevailed in a $20 million SLAPP-suit filed by failed congressional candidate Kim Klacik, who was ordered to pay Ms. Owens $115,000.00 in attorney’s fees.

Selected case documents from Mr. Langford’s win are linked below.

Selected Case Documents:

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Horwitz Law, PLLC has successfully defended clients against multiple multimillion-dollar libel, slander, false light, and other speech-based lawsuits in Tennessee’s state and federal courts. Clients represented by Horwitz Law have avoided tens of millions of dollars’ worth of threatened liability and frequently recovered some or all of their attorney’s fees against the people who baselessly sued them. If you are seeking speech defense, anti-SLAPP, or First Amendment representation, you can purchase a consultation from Horwitz Law here.