The New York State Senate

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10849

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              July 24, 2020
                               ___________

Introduced  by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hyndman) --
  read once and referred to the Committee on Judiciary

AN ACT to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to  creat-
  ing the anti-SLAPP act

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "anti-SLAPP
act".
  § 2. Subdivisions (c) and (g) of rule 3211 of the civil  practice  law
and  rules,  subdivision  (c) as amended by judicial conference proposal
number 4 for the year 1973, subdivision (g) as added by chapter  767  of
the laws of 1992, are amended to read as follows:
  (c)  Evidence  permitted;  immediate  trial; motion treated as one for
summary judgment. Upon the hearing of a motion  made  under  subdivision
(a)  [or],  (b)  OR (G), either party may submit any evidence that could
properly be considered on a motion for summary judgment. Whether or  not
issue  has been joined, the court, after adequate notice to the parties,
may treat the motion as a motion for summary judgment.  The  court  may,
when  appropriate  for  the  expeditious disposition of the controversy,
order immediate trial of the issues raised on the motion.
  (g) Standards for motions to dismiss in certain cases involving public
petition and participation. A motion to dismiss based on paragraph seven
of subdivision (a) of this section, in which the moving party has demon-
strated that the action, claim, cross claim or counterclaim  subject  to
the  motion  is an action involving public petition and participation as
defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section seventy-six-a  of
the  civil  rights  law, shall be granted unless the party responding to
the motion demonstrates that the cause of action has a substantial basis
in law or is supported by  a  substantial  argument  for  an  extension,
modification  or reversal of existing law.  DISCOVERY SHALL BE SUSPENDED
PENDING A DECISION ON THE MOTION. The court shall  grant  preference  in
the hearing of such motion AND SHALL SET SUCH HEARING DATE NO LATER THAN
SIXTY  DAYS  AFTER  THE  DATE OF SERVICE OF THE MOTION UNLESS THE DOCKET
CONDITION OF THE COURT REQUIRES A LATER HEARING, BUT IN NO  EVENT  SHALL

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10707-01-9

A. 10849                            2

THE  HEARING OCCUR MORE THAN NINETY DAYS AFTER SERVICE OF THE MOTION. IF
A MOTION TO DISMISS IS GRANTED THE COURT SHALL PROVIDE FOR  THE  IMPOSI-
TION  OF  COSTS  OR  OTHER SANCTIONS, INCLUDING IMPOSITION OF REASONABLE
ATTORNEY'S FEES.
  § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.