There’s a reason Michigan survivors, journalists, activists, and everyday residents are speaking up right now because for decades, this state has lacked one of the most basic protections against legal abuse: a real, honest-to-goodness defense against SLAPP suits.
House Bill 4045 aims to change that.
And if you’ve ever been threatened with a lawsuit just for telling the truth, or if you’ve ever spoken at a public meeting and feared retaliation, criticized a powerful person or organization, or ever watched someone weaponize the courts to punish speech they didn’t like, then this bill is most certainly for you.
What Is a SLAPP?
A SLAPP, a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, is a civil complaint or counterclaim filed specifically to punish people for speaking out on matters of public interest.
These suits aren’t about justice or resolving conflict, and they’re most certainly not about truth. SLAPPs are about silencing.
They’re typically filed by:
- businesses
- government bodies
- elected officials, or
- individuals with power and resources against ordinary people who dare to challenge them.
And the targets? Regular Michiganders who do things like:
- testify at a city council meeting about zoning or building permits
- raise concerns about public education
- report environmental violations
- speak out about misconduct or corruption
- post criticism of government actions
In other words, people participating in democracy or exercising constitutional rights. SLAPP filers know they can’t win on the facts, so they try to win by exhausting, intimidating, and financially crushing their opponents.
Why SLAPPs Are Used — and Why They’re So Dangerous
Unlike legitimate lawsuits, a SLAPP suit is not actually filed to solve a problem.
It is filed to create one.
SLAPP filers count on two things: fear and cost. They count on the emotional weight of being sued; the panic, the disruption, the forced silence.
Their goal and messaging is simple:
Don’t speak. Don’t criticize. Don’t participate. Don’t challenge me again.
The ACLU describes the intent clearly:
SLAPPs are designed to “bankrupt individuals, trap them in expensive litigation, and punish them for exercising First Amendment rights.”
You’re not sued to be proven wrong. You’re sued so you will sit down and shut up.
Michigan Is One of the Few States Without These Protections — and That Void Has Consequences
Thirty-four states and Washington, D.C. already have anti-SLAPP laws. Michigan does not. And that absence has left the door wide open for:
- retaliatory civil suits
- abusive counterclaims
- politically motivated lawsuits
- harassment via as litigation
- attempts to silence journalists
- intimidation of residents who speak at public meetings
- lawsuits weaponized against survivors, whistleblowers, and community watchdogs
Activists and advocates are no strangers to them, because they’ve seen it again and again. People who challenge misconduct become the target of lawsuits intended to destroy them; not in truth, but in cost. Our courts were never meant to be used as tools of retaliation.
Yet here we are.
What HB 4045 Would Do
HB 4045 is the legislative fix Michigan desperately needs. If passed, the bill would:
1. Provide a fast track to dismiss frivolous lawsuits targeting free speech. No more years of litigation over a comment at a public meeting.
2. Force the SLAPP filer to pay the legal fees. The financial burden shifts to the abuser , not the target, thus making SLAPP suits unpalatable.
3. Protect speech about matters of public importance. Zoning issues, environmental concerns, government decisions, public education, community safety — the topics Michigan residents speak on every day.
4. Stop powerful people from using the courts as weapons. Anti-SLAPP laws don’t stop legitimate claims, they just stop the abusive ones.
5. Bring Michigan in line with most of the country. Anti-SLAPP protections exist in 34 states and D.C.
It’s absolutely time for Michigan to join them.
Why This Matters for Michigan Communities Right Now
SLAPP suits don’t just silence individuals; they silence entire communities. When even just one person is sued for speaking up, 100 others decide not to.
And that is exactly the point.
We need a Michigan where residents can report wrongdoing without fear, where survivors can speak without retaliation, and journalists can investigate without intimidation. We need environmental advocates to be able to hold polluters accountable, for community members to challenge local decisions, and for truth-tellers to no longer have to choose between honesty and bankruptcy.
HB 4045 is not partisan or ideological. It is quite literally democracy-saving legislation.
What You Can Do Today
The Michigan ACLU is calling on all residents to contact the Michigan Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety and support HB 4045.
This is how we stop the weaponization of our courts. This is how we protect the First Amendment. This is how we prevent Michigan from becoming a playground for bullies with lawyers. Democracy depends on participation, but participation, that relies almost entirely on safety.
And safety depends on laws that protect people from being sued just for speaking.
Sign the petition here.
