Univision Communications, Inc., Univision Interactive Media, Inc., The Univision Network Limited Partnership, and Gerardo Reyes v. Carlos Enrique Luna Lam and Iglesia Cristiana Casa de Dios
In consolidated proceedings, the Third District held that an order striking an Anti-SLAPP motion under rule 2.515 is not an appealable nonfinal order under the newly added rule 9.130(a)(3)(J), which reaches only orders that 'deny' such motions. The court also denied certiorari and mandamus, holding the trial court neither departed from the essential requirements of law nor had a ministerial duty to grant or deny, rather than strike, a successive motion. Judge Logue concurred in part and dissented in part, arguing a trial court may not strike a motion for the sole purpose of foreclosing an appeal the Supreme Court authorized.
Key facts
- Univision was the defendant in a Miami-Dade defamation action brought by a Guatemalan pastor and his church; the trial court denied Univision's Anti-SLAPP-based motion to dismiss the second amended complaint in September 2022, and the Third DCA dismissed Univision's certiorari petition for lack of jurisdiction (Lam II).
- On March 27, 2025, the Florida Supreme Court decided Vericker II and simultaneously amended Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130 to add subdivision (a)(3)(J), authorizing interlocutory appeals of nonfinal orders denying motions under section 768.295(4), Florida Statutes, effective immediately on release of the opinion.
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Holdings
- Rule 9.130(a)(3)(J) authorizes interlocutory review only of nonfinal orders that deny a motion under section 768.295(4); an order striking such a motion does not adjudicate its merits and…
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Why it matters
This is the first Florida decision construing the reach of the March 2025 Anti-SLAPP interlocutory appeal rule, and it draws a hard line between orders that 'deny' and orders that 'strike.' Media, First Amendment, and… — full analysis with a trial
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