Problem:
AFL represented Helen Levinson, a mother of two, born to a family of Christian Arab immigrants from Jordan and raised in Chicago, who stood up against a school teacher for promoting highly racialized and progressive viewpoints in her school district. One teacher from outside Helen’s school district would aggressively protest at her district’s school board meeting. At one point, Helen needed a security escort to leave a meeting. Based on this type of behavior, Helen wrote a letter to the teacher’s school board, providing examples of the teacher’s conduct, and requesting the board review whether this was in compliance with their code of conduct. In response, the teacher sued Helen. This lawsuit violated IL’s Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law. You cannot file a lawsuit in an attempt to keep someone from exercising their constitutional rights. We partnered with Sorin Leahu, who was already defending Helen, to combat this lawfare from the teacher.
Action:
We defended Helen in the Circuit Court for Cook County, IL.
Result:
AFL WIN. Both the first and second complaints were dismissed. The second complaint was dismissed with prejudice, meaning the teacher can no longer sue Helen related to these claims.
