New York Attorneys Obtain Voluntary Dismissal After Anti-SLAPP Motion for of Nonprofit Animal Advocacy Organization
New York City Partner Sean H. Chung and Senior Trial Counsel Joseph Dimitrov recently induced a litigious plaintiff to voluntarily discontinue their claims in the New York Supreme Court on behalf of our nonprofit animal advocacy organization client.
Plaintiff, a Union organization representing horse-drawn carriage drivers in Central Park, filed a lawsuit alleging that statements made by an animal advocacy organization to its donors and elected officials in the course of their lobbying activities constituted a tortious interference of their drivers’ business relations with the general public at large. Plaintiff filed the complaint in November 2025 in the height of political discourse through New York City regarding the neglect of animals used in the horse-drawn carriages industry.
Our defense attorneys Sean Chung and Joseph Dimitrov filed a motion to dismiss arguing that Plaintiff’s complaint constituted a violation of New York State’s Anti-SLAPP statute (Civil Rights Law §§ 70-a and 76-a) which requires dismissal and fee-shifting where a plaintiff targets speech “in connection with an issue of public interest” and cannot show a “substantial basis in law” for its claims. Our attorneys argued that by filing this suit Plaintiff was seeking to stifle the nonprofit’s free speech in criticizing the industry as a whole, and further argued that the Plaintiff could not claim interference with the public as a whole for purposes of a tortious interference claim. Plaintiff further argued that the union representing horse-drawn carriage drivers could not have standing to bring a private suit on behalf of its individual members. In opposition to our attorneys’ motion, Plaintiff attempted to amend its complaint to add two individual members of the Union who operated as carriage drivers, attempting to bypass the standing argument. However, when the parties appeared for oral argument on the application, Plaintiff seemed to appreciate the inherent risks of the fee-shifting requirement under the Anti-SLAPP statute and offered a settlement of the matter in the form of walking away from the Complaint entirely without payment of any attorneys’ fees.
In light of this position, our attorneys were successful in coercing Plaintiff to walk away from its claims due to the gambit of Anti-SLAPP motion, thus allowing our client to continue in its advocacy of animal rights throughout the State of New York.
Sean focuses his practice on commercial litigation including employment and labor law, directors and officers (D&O) liability, employment practices liability (EPL) and general liability matters. He also handles professional liability, intellectual property, premises liability and construction defect matters on behalf of clients.
Joseph concentrates his practice on general liability and insurance defense, handling matters involving negligence, professional liability and motor vehicle accidents. He also handles employment liability claims involving wage and hour disputes and discrimination and provides counsel to co-op and condominium association board members.