Fifth Circuit Holds That Texas’s Anti-SLAPP Statute Does Not Apply in Federal Diversity Cases

On August 23, 2019, the Fifth Circuit held in Klocke v. Watson that Texas’s anti-SLAPP law, the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), cannot be used to challenge diversity actions in federal court, answering a question that had divided federal district courts in this Circuit for several years. The holding is significant because it provides a way for plaintiffs to avoid dismissal of claims under the TCPA by filing suit in federal court.

READ: Fifth Circuit Holds That Texas’s Anti-SLAPP Statute Does Not Apply in Federal Diversity Cases