United States First Circuit

In a former elementary school principal's suit against a school board and a union, claiming violation of her due process rights under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, and state law claims against three school employees, district court's denial of the individual defendants' motions to dismiss under Maine's anti-SLAPP statute is reversed and remanded where: 1) supplemental jurisdiction exists over plaintiff's state-law claims under section 1367(a), and appellate jurisdiction exists; and 2) because neither Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) nor Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 is sufficiently broad to control the issues raised by the individual defendants' section 556 special motion, the district court erred in denying the motion on the basis that section 556 was displaced, as holding to the contrary would deprive the defendants of section 556 protection solely on account of the fact that they are joined as defendants in this ligation with the school board and the union, against whom federal claims are raised.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/22/2010
• Published 12/22/2010

Judges

• LYNCH

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• John B. Lucy, Sandra Hylander Collier