Doe v. Alwan

During spring 2024 student protests at Columbia University over the Israel-Hamas war, the Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (Columbia-AAUP) spoke out publicly in defense of students’ rights to free speech and protest and against what they deemed Columbia’s overly punitive response.

In response, the plaintiffs—five current and former Columbia students—filed a lawsuit against Columbia-AAUP and twenty other defendants asserting a variety of tort claims and seeking punitive damages. Plaintiffs argue that Columbia-AAUP’s public statements resulted in the injuries Plaintiffs allege to have suffered from the university’s decisions to move classes online, restrict access to campus, and cancel its graduation ceremony in response to student protests.

Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is a classic “SLAPP” (strategic lawsuit against public participation) suit, seeking to punish protected First Amendment speech, burden Defendants with high legal costs, and chill future speech. New York State law has strong protections against frivolous SLAPP suits, requiring plaintiffs to prove a “substantial basis” for any claims involving public speech in connection with any issue of public interest.

On behalf of Columbia-AAUP, the ACLU and Wang Hecker LLP filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that each of Plaintiffs’ tort claims against Columbia-AAUP attacks public speech on an issue of public interest and fails to establish a substantial basis in law. Additionally, the motion argues that Columbia-AAUP’s statements are independently protected under the First Amendment and thus cannot be subject to tort liability. On this basis, Columbia-AAUP urges the New York Supreme Court to dismiss the claims against Columbia-AAUP, award attorneys’ fees and costs, and sanction plaintiffs’ counsel for this frivolous suit.