Skanska files SLAPP suit seeking injunction against vivisection protests

In Portland, Oregon,two executives at Skanska have filed papers with the Washington County Courthouse in Hillsboro, OR seeking an injunction against 4 animal rights activsts and the "No New Animal Lab" campaign against Skanska's project to build a vivisection laboratory for the University of Washington. This injunction would not bind activists in DC, New York, or anywhere but in the jurisdiction in question and only from that one organization. No New Animal Lab has counterfiled a anti-SLAPP Special Motion to Strike against Skanska.

SLAPP lawuits mean Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, in recent years pipeline and fracking companies have become known for them. These lawsuits are not filed with intent to win, rather they are "nuisance suits" intended to bankrupt aboveground, legal political opponents of corporations. As such, many states including Washington have passed legislation to control such onerous litigation.

If this injunction survives the countersuit and is not declared a SLAPP, it will still do Skanska little good. Historically, corporations that sought to stop protests against things like their Huntingdon Life Sciences investments with injunctions usually have ended up submitting to activist demands anyway. Danaher is a good example. One of their subsidiaries got an injunction somewhere on the West Coast against HLS protesters, only to stir up actions on the East Coast against Danaher as a whole. In the end, with their injunction only stirring up the hornet's nest, Danaher threw in the towel and Huntingdon Life Sciences lost a source of chemicals and lab equipment. In short, seeking an injunction against protest is like trying to protect yourself from bee stings by smearing yourself with honey.

http://nonewanimallab.com/post/breaking-no-new-animal-lab-fights-back-ag...