Krista Pratt Highlighted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly
"Are Rape Allegations Protected Under SLAPP?"

Krista Pratt was highlighted in the article, "Are Rape Allegations Protected Under SLAPP?,” which appeared in the January 19, 2009 edition of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. The article reported on how the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently heard arguments in an anti-SLAPP case involving a 16-year-old who was sued for allegedly lying to police about a rape she claimed was committed by an adult neighbor. In Benoit v. Frederickson, the court will decide if the judge applied the wrong legal standard when he denied the teen's special motion to dismiss. According to the article, even though criminal charges were eventually dismissed against the man after the teen refused to testify at a probable cause hearing, her lawyer, Krista, argued that reporting the rape to police was protected petitioning activity. Krista, who also represents the teen's family, contended that once she demonstrated the lawsuit was based solely on the young woman's petitioning activities, the judge failed to place the burden on the plaintiff to prove that there was no reasonable factual support for the claims.

Krista wrote in her brief that "The Superior Court's reasoning is contrary to the very purpose of the anti-SLAPP statute and is a gross misapplication of well-settled law. By denying [the teen] the immunity provided by the anti-SLAPP statute, the court forced [her] to defend against claims that are based solely on [her] protected activity of filing a police report after Benoit raped her - exactly the type of claims the anti-SLAPP statute is intended to protect against." Krista concluded that "The Appeals Court's Order ... failed to apply the most recent and pertinent appellate authority. And ... its conclusion that parties in the [defendants'] position must choose between two legitimate and important rights - their right to an interlocutory appeal and their right to bring counterclaims - is contrary to the very purpose of the anti-SLAPP statute and to this Court's holding that special movants have the right to an interlocutory appeal. "