Missouri: Anti-SLAPP Laws

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.528 remains the current rule through August 27, 2026.
Governor Mike Kehoe signed S.B. 1067 on July 13, 2026. The act repeals
§ 537.528 and enacts the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act at new
§ 537.529 beginning August 28, 2026. Its applicability clause is decisive:
"The provisions of this section shall apply to any civil action filed, or any
cause of action asserted in a civil action, on or after August 28, 2026."
An older action does not switch statutes merely because the effective date
arrives while the case is pending.

What speech or conduct is protected

Current law covers only "conduct or speech undertaken or made in connection
with a public hearing or public meeting, in a quasi-judicial proceeding
before a tribunal or decision-making body" of the state or a political
subdivision. Missouri courts also limit the current procedure to claims for
money damages.

For actions and claims filed on or after August 28, new § 537.529.3 is much
broader. It reaches communications in government proceedings, communications
on issues under government review, and constitutional speech, press,
assembly, petition, or association on a matter of public concern.

The special motion

Under current § 537.528.1, you may use a special motion to dismiss, a motion
for judgment on the pleadings, or a motion for summary judgment. The court
must consider it on a priority or expedited basis. The statute gives no
filing deadline for the motion itself, although filing within 90 days after
the answer controls whether a prevailing movant receives fees. Filing also
suspends discovery through the exhaustion of appeals concerning the motion.

New § 537.529.5 instead says: "No later than sixty days after a party is
served with a complaint, crossclaim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or
other pleading that asserts a cause of action to which this section applies,
or at a later time upon a showing of good cause, a party may file a special
motion to dismiss." The new act also stays proceedings between the movant
and respondent, including discovery and pending hearings or motions.

Burden of proof

Current § 537.528 creates no statutory burden-shifting test. It accelerates
ordinary dismissal, pleadings, or summary-judgment motions; Missouri courts
have additionally looked to whether the suit is retaliatory.

Effective August 28, § 537.529 changes the test. The movant must establish
coverage, and the respondent must establish an exemption. The court then
dismisses with prejudice if the respondent fails to establish a prima facie
case for each essential claim element, or if the movant establishes that the
claim fails under ordinary dismissal or summary-judgment standards.

Attorney's fees

Under current § 537.528.2, a prevailing movant receives mandatory fees only
if the motion was filed within 90 days after the answer. The responding party
receives fees if the motion was frivolous or solely intended to cause delay.

New § 537.529 removes the movant's 90-day fee condition. It requires costs,
reasonable attorney's fees, and reasonable litigation expenses for a
prevailing movant. A prevailing respondent receives them only when the court
finds the motion frivolous or filed solely to delay the proceeding.

Right to appeal

Current § 537.528.3 gives either party expedited-appeal language, but
Missouri appellate decisions do not treat it as an immediate interlocutory
appeal right from a denial. New § 537.529 changes that result: "A moving party
may appeal within twenty-one days as a matter of right from an order denying,
in whole or in part, a motion under subsection 5 of this section."

Exemptions

Current § 537.528 names no exemptions; its narrow scope does most of the
limiting work. Section 537.528.5 also preserves other remedies, defenses, and
causes of action, including defamation claims.

New § 537.529.4 expressly excludes claims against governmental units or
officials acting officially, specified government enforcement brought to
protect against an imminent public-health or safety threat, and certain
sale-or-lease communications by businesses primarily selling or leasing
goods or services. Dramatic, literary, musical, political, journalistic, and
artistic works do not count as "goods or services" for that business
exemption.

What trips people up

Signing did not make the new procedure available immediately. S.B. 1067
was signed July 13, but § 537.529 begins August 28, 2026 and applies only to a
civil action filed, or a cause of action asserted, on or after that date.
Check the filing or claim-assertion date before choosing the motion procedure.

"Public hearing or meeting" is a real ceiling, not a floor. Unlike
California- or UPEPA-style statutes that reach any speech on a public issue,
Missouri's current law only protects speech tied to an actual government
hearing or meeting. Commentary in the media, on social media, or in a
private dispute — even about a genuinely public issue — generally falls
outside this statute if it wasn't made in or in connection with one of those
proceedings.

The current 90-day rule controls fees, not whether the motion exists. A
motion filed later can still seek dismissal under § 537.528, but the current
mandatory fee award is unavailable. New § 537.529 replaces that structure for
qualifying actions and claims beginning August 28.

Common questions

What if an older lawsuit gains a new counterclaim after August 28?
The applicability clause separately reaches a "cause of action asserted" on
or after August 28, 2026, even if the surrounding civil action was filed
earlier. Whether a particular amended pleading asserts a new cause of action
is a case-specific question.

Does the new business exemption treat journalism as a commercial service?
Not for this exemption. Section 537.529.4 says "goods or services" does not
include dramatic, literary, musical, political, journalistic, or artistic
works.

Does the new award cover only attorney fees?
No. Section 537.529 requires costs, reasonable attorney's fees, and reasonable
litigation expenses related to the motion.

Statutes and sources

• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.528.1 — "Any action against a person for conduct
  or speech undertaken or made in connection with a public hearing or public
  meeting, in a quasi-judicial proceeding before a tribunal or
  decision-making body of the state or any political subdivision of the
  state is subject to a special motion to dismiss, motion for judgment on
  the pleadings, or motion for summary judgment that shall be considered by
  the court on a priority or expedited basis to ensure the early
  consideration of the issues raised by the motion and to prevent the
  unnecessary expense of litigation. Upon the filing of any special motion
  described in this subsection, all discovery shall be suspended pending a
  decision on the motion by the court and the exhaustion of all appeals
  regarding the special motion." Source:
  https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.528
  (accessed 2026-07-16).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.528.2 — "If the rights afforded by this section
  are raised as an affirmative defense and if a court grants a motion to
  dismiss, a motion for judgment on the pleadings or a motion for summary
  judgment filed within ninety days of the filing of the moving party's
  answer, the court shall award reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred
  by the moving party in defending the action. If the court finds that a
  special motion to dismiss or motion for summary judgment is frivolous or
  solely intended to cause unnecessary delay, the court shall award costs
  and reasonable attorney fees to the party prevailing on the motion."
  Source: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.528
  (accessed 2026-07-14).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.528.3 — "Any party shall have the right to an
  expedited appeal from a trial court order on the special motions described
  in subsection 2 of this section or from a trial court's failure to rule
  on the motion on an expedited basis." Source:
  https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.528
  (accessed 2026-07-16).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.528.4 — "As used in this section, a \"public
  meeting in a quasi-judicial proceeding\" means and includes any meeting
  established and held by a state or local governmental entity, including
  without limitations meetings or presentations before state, county, city,
  town or village councils, planning commissions, review boards or
  commissions." Source:
  https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.528
  (accessed 2026-07-16).
• Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.528.5 — "Nothing in this section limits or
  prohibits the exercise of a right or remedy of a party granted pursuant to
  another constitutional, statutory, common law or administrative provision,
  including civil actions for defamation." Source:
  https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=537.528
  (accessed 2026-07-16).
• 2026 Mo. S.B. 1067, § A (new Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.529.3-.5) — expands
  protected activity, states the exemptions, and creates the 60-day motion
  deadline. Source:
  https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/pdf-bill/intro/SB1067.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-14). The official final bill page identifies the enacted
  clean version as 5144S.01T and lists no amendments to the 5144S.01I text.
• 2026 Mo. S.B. 1067, § A (new Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.529.8, .11-.12) —
  supplies the dismissal standard, 21-day appeal right, and fee rule quoted in
  the frontmatter. Source:
  https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/pdf-bill/intro/SB1067.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-14).
• 2026 Mo. S.B. 1067 applicability clause — "The provisions of this
  section shall apply to any civil action filed, or any cause of action
  asserted in a civil action, on or after August 28, 2026." Source:
  https://www.senate.mo.gov/26info/pdf-bill/intro/SB1067.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-14).
• Governor action on S.B. 1067 — the Governor's official July 13, 2026
  release lists S.B. 1067 among the bills signed into law. Source:
  https://governor.mo.gov/press-releases/archive/governor-kehoe-takes-action-remaining-legislation
  (accessed 2026-07-16).