Advanced Armament Corp. v. Garner [1]

Advanced Armament Corp., a Georgia manufacturer of silencers for firearms, sued Ian Hale Garner in Oregon over statements he posted on Internet chat rooms for gun enthusiasts.  Advanced Armament brought suit in federal court in May 2008 seeking damages and injunctive relief for defamation and interference with contractual relations. In particular, Advanced Armament sought to prevent Garner from "making, stating, or posting any defamatory statements," including but not limited to statements about its "products, designs, customer relationships, business plans and contracts." Compl. ¶ 4.

Garner moved to strike the complaint under Oregon's anti-SLAPP statute, arguing that American Armament's claims arose out of written statements in a public forum concerning issues of public interest.  He argued that the chat rooms were public forums because "[i]n this case, anyone who is interested" in the topic "may in fact register and gain access," analogizing chat rooms to newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. Def.'s Reply Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Strike at 3-4. Garner argued that his statements concerned an issue of public interest because the two chat rooms had "thousands of members each." Id. at 6. He also pointed out American Armament described itself as providing weapons to police departments and the U.S. government, making its activities a matter of public interest. Id. at 5.

American Armament countered that Garner was not speaking in the public interest when he made the statements because he had a relationship with one of its business competitors, which was also financing Garner's defense.  Pl.'s Supp. Brief in Opp. to Def.'s Mot. to Strike at 4.

The case proceeded to discovery before it was dismissed in April 2009 because the parties had reached a settlement.