Summary
In this interlocutory appeal, the Eleventh Circuit held that the motion-to-strike procedure under Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.1, does not apply in federal diversity actions because it directly conflicts with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8, 12, and 56 by imposing a probability-of-prevailing standard instead of the plausibility and summary judgment standards. The court also determined it lacked pendent appellate jurisdiction to review the denial of CNN’s Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, as that issue was not inextricably intertwined with the appealable anti-SLAPP ruling. The decision affirms the district court’s denial of the motion to strike and dismisses the appeal of the motion to dismiss.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the motion-to-strike procedure of the Georgia anti-SLAPP statute, O.C.G.A. § 9-11-11.1, applies in federal court sitting in diversity jurisdiction.
- Whether the court has pendent appellate jurisdiction to review the denial of the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
Holdings
- The motion-to-strike procedure of the Georgia anti-SLAPP statute does not apply in federal court because it conflicts with Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8, 12, and 56.
- The court lacks pendent appellate jurisdiction because the issues are not inextricably intertwined and review of the motion to dismiss is not necessary to ensure meaningful review of the appealable issue.
Factual background
Davide Carbone, the former CEO of St. Mary's Medical Center, sued CNN for defamation over a series of news reports alleging that the mortality rate for pediatric open-heart surgery at St. Mary's was 12.5%, more than three times the national average of 3.3%. Carbone alleged that CNN intentionally misrepresented the national average by using a figure based on all pediatric heart surgeries, while reporting St. Mary's rate only for open-heart surgeries. The risk-adjusted mortality rate for St. Mary's was 5.3%, which was not statistically different from the national average. As a result of the reports, St. Mary's discontinued its pediatric cardiology program and Carbone was forced to resign.
Procedural history
The district court denied CNN's motion to strike under Georgia's anti-SLAPP statute and motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). CNN appealed both rulings.