MEDIA, Pa. - Television personality Dog the Bounty Hunter has appealed what is thought to be the first successful use of a free-speech defense offered by a new Pennsylvania law.
Dog, real name Duane Chapman, and several others on May 12 filed their notice of appeal to the state Superior Court, after Delaware County judge Kelly Eckel in April protected two true-crime YouTubers from their lawsuit.
The anti-SLAPP law was passed in Pennsylvania in 2024. SLAPP stands for strategic lawsuits against public participations, and the law offers defendants making free-speech arguments an early way to fight claims like defamation.
Dog and others sued Stephanie Jo Trude and Jessica Lynn Seng in October, with an 83-page complaint making racketeering and cyberbullying claims. The two defendants, who live in Pennsylvania, host true-crime podcasts on YouTube and moderate online discussions. The complaint can be viewed here.
One of their subjects is the disappearance of Sebastian Wayne Drake Rogers, who was 15 years old when he went missing last February in Hendersonville, Tenn. His father Seth is one of the plaintiffs and claims content creators have a goal of "destroying the lives of anyone who dares to search for answers or help locate the missing teenager," who still hasn't been found.
Trude is accused of interfering with the investigation and using GoFundMe campaigns to deceive the public.
Seng uses social media to twist Seth Rogers' words during interviews to make him seem insincere, the suit says. There are plenty of other accusations, like the two have labeled Seth Rogers a pedophile, in the lengthy complaint.
Judge Eckel rejected all of them when she granted the anti-SLAPP motion filed by Trude, who goes by Bbq_Lady on TikTok and has started fundraising for legal fees, and Seng. When considering whether the lawsuit was brought with the intention of silencing protected speech, Eckel looked at one key text exchange between the parties.
Plaintiff Tony Mathis is the spokesperson for Seth Rogers. He texted Trude in June 2024 "Lol... I'm actually going to file a civil suit against you and make you pay to defend it. Don't even care if I win."
"(T)he Court concludes that the defendants' YouTube broadcasts/podcasts fall well within the freedom of speech protections afforded by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," Eckel wrote.
"Moreover, Defendants' speech on their YouTube broadcasts/podcasts can be fairly considered as relating to a matter of concern to the community (the search for a missing child) and/or are subjects of legitimate news interest..."
The plaintiffs' response to the anti-SLAPP motion was "anemic," she added.
"Surprisingly - given the length and breadth of the complaint's wild allegations and its 47 supposed 'counts' - the responses to the anti-SLAPP motions contain no reference whatsoever to any of those allegations and no analysis of how any of those allegations establish any prima facie claim."
And the "behemoth" complaint was so "cumbersome" that it prevented the defendants from knowing exactly what was being alleged, Eckel wrote. And it referenced more than 50 exhibits that weren't even attached when it was filed.
"The repeated references to criminal conduct, criminal liability and the alleged involvement of the former attorney general of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania... suggests that it was the intent of at least some of the scriveners to scare the defendants into believing that there could be, or might be, criminal charges filed against them..." Ecker wrote.
Winners of anti-SLAPP motions are entitled to their legal costs, including attorneys fees, from the plaintiffs. Also possible are punitive damages, and both Seng and Trude have filed motions for them, while the plaintiffs appeal.
"Without a doubt, the actions of Plaintiffs are outrageous and brought with evil and malicious motive," Seng's motion says.
Legal Newsline has previously covered a pending anti-SLAPP motion in a Washington County case involving a Charleroi business owner suing a critic who speaks against his practice of hiring Haitian help. Court records show that motion, which calls Fourth Street Barbeque owner David Barbe a "big baby," is still pending.