In a long-running case involving a pro-life sidewalk counselor prevailing over a charter school’s lawsuit to silence his speech, Liberty Counsel filed a reply brief to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals asking it to award the prevailing counselor his entitled attorney’s fees. On behalf of sidewalk counselor, Larry Cirignano, Liberty Counsel requests the appeals court hold Two Rivers Public Charter School liable for its improper lawsuit and reverse a lower court’s decision to deny the fees.
The nine-year legal dispute began after Cirignano appeared on a public sidewalk in November 2015 protesting the construction of a Planned Parenthood building by holding a sign raising awareness about how abortion kills innocent babies. The Planned Parenthood building shares an alley with, and is located between, two buildings belonging to the Two Rivers Charter School. The charter school’s lawsuit claimed Cirignano’s presentation of the truth about abortion caused “emotional distress” and was a “nuisance” to the school. Two Rivers sued Cirignano even though he never trespassed on school property or otherwise broke any laws.
The appeals court had previously and unanimously dismissed the lawsuit under D.C.’s “Anti-Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (Anti-SLAPP) Act.” Initially, the D.C. Superior Court ruled in favor of the lawsuit, but the appeals court reversed that decision by ruling the “nuisance” claim was insufficient and that Two Rivers did not have any standing to sue Cirignano for his free speech actions on public property. The case was then remanded back to the Superior Court which then agreed that Two Rivers is not immune from attorney’s fees, but denied the fees anyway citing “special circumstances” due to the nature of abortion protests happening near school children.
Under the appeal involving the fees, the charter school is still attempting to avoid liability from its failed strategic lawsuit by claiming “immunity” under an amended D.C. law. The law, enacted in November 2022, exempts the district and charter schools from the Anti-SLAPP law. The amended law was passed after Liberty Counsel obtained final judgment in this case in July 2022.
Liberty Counsel argues that new laws cannot retroactively unbind previous final court judgments as that would be a clear violation of due process.
“That fact alone dooms the District’s position under a century of Supreme Court precedent barring legislatures from retroactively disturbing final judgments,” wrote Liberty Counsel. “Two Rivers cannot ask for such an unconstitutional result.”
Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Two Rivers Public Charter School is not immune from the consequences of trying to silence the free speech of pro-life sidewalk counselor, Larry Cirignano. We are asking the appeals court to hold the school accountable for paying attorney’s fees to the prevailing party.”
